Spellbound
by GinaDarling
Summary: After her father's death, Kora has to move in with her grandmother on the Quileute reservation. There, she meets a pack of good-hearted teenage werewolves. But something is hunting Kora, and it won't stop until it sucks her dry. Jacob/OC
1. Broken

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own **_**Twilight **_**or any of the respective characters from the published books by the amazing Stephenie Meyer. If I did, I would most likely be sitting on my own private beach sipping tropical punch out of a coconut right now instead of writing this. Anything/anyone you don't recognize I probably do own. **

**In addition, this is my first Twilight fic. I'm kind of excited about it, but a little nervous. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, because that's what this is all about! So go ahead, read and have fun and, if you so desire, leave some feedback. :)**

**Full Summary: **_Kora knows things will never be the same. After her father's death, she has to move in with her grandmother on the Quileute reservation. There, she meets a pack of good-hearted teenage werewolves. Slowly, she starts to become somewhat like her old self again. But something is hunting Kora, and it won't stop until it sucks her dry. _

Chapter One: Broken

**Kora**

There was so much blood.

It was everywhere. Dripping down the walls, soaking into my mother's expensive Persian rug. I could smell it, salty and bitter, burning my nose. I tried to scream, but I could barely even breathe. The football game was still playing on the television, but I could hardly hear the announcers' playful banter. I could only hear the slurping from the figure bent over the limp, broken body of my father.

He was missing an arm. It lay at my feet.

The figure whirled to face me so fast I didn't actually see the movement. It was like the first and last page of a flipbook comic. She was crouched over my father, and then she was grinning sadistically at me with eyes the same color as the blood dripping from her perfect lips.

She was beautiful. She was deadly.

The scream finally tore from my chest, filling the room, reaching pitches I'd never dreamed of hitting in choir class. The figure faltered, covered her ears, yelled at me to stop. I couldn't. I screamed until there was no air left in my lungs and then screamed some more. I could see my father's throat, ripped open and still bleeding. So much blood.

I closed my eyes, drew a breath, and my screams continued.

"Stop it!" the woman screeched.

No.

"Kora, stop!"

He can't be dead.

"Koraline!"

I swung my fists blindly and they met with something soft and warm. Someone made a noise of surprise and a pair of hands gripped my wrists. "No! Daddy! No!" I cried.

"Kora, baby, open your eyes!" This wasn't that deadly creature's voice. It was warm, but scared. I did as I was told. Soft brown eyes stared into mine. They sat under a brow creased with concern, and below there was a mouth twisted into a worried frown.

"Mama," I sobbed. She gathered me into her arms, running her fingers over my back, her fingernails scratching comforting little circles the way she always did when I was little. My surroundings slowly clicked into place. An old, brown, coffee-stained rug covered the floor. An ancient grandfather clock chimed seven o'clock AM in the corner. I was sitting on a worn out old couch that used to be white, but was now tan from years of use. My legs were tangled up in the blankets, and it looked as if my mother had knocked the rickety old wooden coffee table over in her effort to get to me.

I wasn't in our big old farmhouse in New Mexico. There was no bloodstained Turkish rug or lifeless, torn up body. I was in my grandmother's little house, in my mom's vice-like grip. I was safe. Why didn't I feel that way?

The light flicked on. A tall, thin woman stood in the doorway. Her long black hair, streaked through with white, was pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck. She squinted at us, making the crows feet in her dark skin slightly more pronounced. Even in her nightdress and slippers, she was lovely.

"What's going on?" she asked, groggy but concerned. Another figure appeared beside her, a boy, my age, with skin the same shade as the woman he stood beside.

"Did she have _another_ nightmare?" the boy asked. He was annoyed. I didn't blame him. I'd been waking up my poor cousin and grandmother three times a week since my mother and I had moved in the month before.

"Hush, Timothy," my grandmother snapped.

With difficulty, I pulled out of my mother's arms. "Sorry," I croaked, my throat sore from screaming. "Sorry." I repeated my apology. No one responded. Tim pursed his lips and wandered back down the hall to his room. Mom stroked my hair.

"I'll start coffee," Aunt Talia, as my grandmother insisted on being called (she didn't like how old the words "grandma" or "nana" made her feel) said. She cast me one more sympathetic look before disappearing into the kitchen. Mom didn't say anything. I know she must have heard me scream for my father. I also know she avoided talking about what happened at all costs, just like I did. No one would ever believe I walked in on my dad being sucked dry by a beautiful woman. After a few silent moments in which she wiped my face with the end of her sleeve, Mom leaned in to kiss my forehead and stood up to silently follow Aunt Talia into the kitchen.

Slowly, I untwisted the blanket from around my legs and stood up. My dark hair, despite being slept on wet, still hung limp and straight over my shoulders. I wandered into the guest room, occupied by my mother, and fished some clothes out of my side of the closet without really looking at what I chose. I didn't really care. I pulled on the jeans and white sweater, followed by a mismatched pair of socks and my worn brown clogs.

I added too much sugar to my coffee, but drank it anyway while I waited for Tim to finish showering. When he appeared in the doorway, looking like the epitome of Mr. High School in his blue polo and khaki cut-offs, his shaggy hair still dripping from his shower, I shuffled into the steamy bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. After rinsing my mouth with water, I caught my reflection out of the corner of my eye. I swept my hand over the mirror to wipe away the steam on the glass. Of course, I didn't like what I saw. Not that it really mattered. There was nothing I could do about my skin, which looked pasty white next to Tim's deep russet, or the dark circles under my icy gray eyes. I would have to go to school, and somehow manage to ignore the stares I was going to get for being the only white girl in school.

It was pure good fortune that I was so good at feeling nothing lately.

On my way back to the kitchen, I turned the coffee table back over so it was right side up. When I arrived in the room, Tim was arguing with Aunt Talia about me. He didn't want to drive me to school. Probably had something to do with my paleness, but whatever. I wouldn't want to be seen with me either. I stood and waited it out, not really caring how I got to school. Walk, drive, carpool, bus. What did it matter? Talia eventually put her foot down and told him that if he didn't take me to school and help me find the main office she would take away his driving privileges. Harsh, but it worked.

We drove to school in silence, Tim fuming to himself. He didn't even wait for me to get out of the car before stomping off towards the building. I had to double my usual pace to catch up with him before I lost him in the throng of students milling about in the courtyard. They all stared at me, surprised and probably wondering what I was doing there. It was a small school, everyone probably knew everyone else. With any luck, they'd get over the anomaly of me in a week or two and I could fade into the background.

Tim led me into the building and down the hall, then left me standing in a little room with an empty desk. I stood there stupidly with my late breakfast (a cold pop tart) in my hand and a bewildered expression on my face.

"Why so scared?" a deep voice asked. I jumped. I hadn't noticed the man lounging in one of the guest chairs. Actually, he looked more like _two_ men forged together. He was _huge_. And I don't mean he was fat, he was just built that way. Broad chest, thick arms, big hands. All that. He chuckled.

"Huh?" I replied.

The man cocked his head to the side and surveyed me with obvious curiosity. "I asked why you're so scared. You look like you've just seen a werewolf." He grinned, like we were sharing some kind of inside joke, only I was on the outside.

"I'm new."

"Duh," he replied, kind of childishly for his age. "I figured that out all by myself." He eyed me.

I cocked my head to the side and allowed for a little bit of humor to enter my voice. "It's because I'm albino, isn't it?"

He let out a bark of laughter just as a small woman bustled into the room. Apparently I wasn't the only white person in school. She still had a better tan than me, though. She froze when she saw the man I'd been talking to and gave him a reprimanding look.

"Mr. Ateara, class has not even started yet and you're already getting sent down?" she sighed.

Mr. Ateara grinned, his white teeth contrasting beautifully with his dark skin. "I thought I'd start the year with my best foot forward."

The little woman shook her head and dumped a pile of papers onto her previously immaculate desk. "I'd hoped you would have outgrown detention by now. You've certainly outgrown everything else!"

This threw me off. "He _goes_ here?"

Suddenly noticing my presence, the woman gave me a strange look. "Yes."

I looked at the man, who was now smirking. "As a _student_?"

My dumbfounded reaction seemed to please him for some reason. He stood up and held out one large hand. "Quil Ateara, at your service." I gingerly shook his hand, still shocked. As I pulled my hand away, he leaned in suddenly. "If you think I'm big, wait 'til you meet my friends." He winked. I stared.

"Mr. Ateara, please stop frightening the new student," the woman requested. I looked over at her. "I assume that's why you are here?" I nodded. She seemed to be waiting for something. After a moment, she said, "Well, what's your name? I'll need it if you want me to find you your schedule in this mess." She motioned to her desk.

"Oh, sorry," I replied. "I'm, um, Kora. Kora Wolfe." As the woman started looking through papers, Quil chuckled to himself. Another private joke, apparently.

"Koraline Louis Wolfe?" she asked, reading from a paper. I flinched. Yes, you read that right. Not "Louise." It's "Louis."

"Yes, thank you," I said quickly, accepting the papers from her.

"The first page is your schedule. The rest are forms your parent or guardian will need to fill out and return to me as soon as possible."

"Okay. Thank you, Miss…"

"Smith," she supplied. Well, that's easy enough to remember. "Mrs. Smith."

"Right. Mrs. Smith. Thanks for your help." I looked down at my schedule and frowned. The rooms were all letter/number combinations, and I had no idea where any of them were. Mrs. Smith seemed to notice my dismay.

"Mr. Ateara," she said. "I'll cut you a deal. Help Miss Wolfe find her first class and I'll let you off the hook for now."

"Sounds good to me!" Quil replied, the first bell of the day playing behind his good-humored chuckle. He grabbed my arm eagerly and steered me out of the office before Mrs. Smith could change her mind. My schedule disappeared from my hands and I looked over to see that Quil was studying it. He was so fast. Pictures flashed through my mind. A pale figure crouched over a limp body, crimson eyes studying me, a mocking smile. "Oh, you have two classes with me, _and_ lunch. Luck is on your side, my friend." I blinked, snapping out of the horrible flashback, and looked up at his smiling face. Quil was nothing like that terrible creature. For one, his skin was about a thousand times darker, and his eyes were just plain old brown.

He seemed to be waiting for an answer, so I supplied him with the simplest one possible. "Cool."

"First period history and seventh period algebra two you've got with me. Then there's fifth period lunch you have with all of us. The guys are great and I'm sure Kim will be glad to have another girl around." Why was he so enthusiastic? It was a little intimidating. He shot me a slightly guilty look. "That is, if you want to sit with us I mean. I guess I just assumed…"

"That's fine," I said.

Quil grinned, the wind back in his sails apparently. "Sweet. You'll like everyone." He turned back to my schedule. "I may be wrong, but I think you have a couple of classes with Embry…" I nodded like I knew who Embry was, even though I didn't. Quil didn't seem to notice. He kept prattling on about which of his friends I might have what class with, and I listened, trying to look politely interested when really I just wanted to get to class so I could find a seat all the way in the back where no one could look at me. "So is your middle name really Louis?"

I stared down at my shoes. "It's a family thing." My father, my father's father, my father's father's father, etcetera, were all named Louis Wolfe. They were also all firstborn sons. It was kind of a tradition, but when my dad's firstborn was a girl he couldn't exactly name me Louis. At least, not if he didn't want me to get ridiculed all my life. He settled for making it my middle name.

"That's cool," Quil replied. He fell silent for a few moments. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

I looked up at him blankly. "No." He didn't need to know that I used to talk so much I got detention for it. That was…before.

Quil just smiled and stopped, swinging a door open for me. "Here we are!" He swept me inside, rather overdramatically, just as the late bell rang. The teacher, a tall and lanky man with a pair of wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose, looked at us from his place leaning against his desk.

"Ah, Mr. Ateara, how nice of you to join us," he said. Just as I thought, even the teachers know all the students. "But who's this?"

"New student, Mr. Brock," Quil explained for me. I guess he's pretty useful in that area. I liked that he talked for me. "Her name's Kora Wolfe and she's in this class." He held my schedule out as proof.

Mr. Brock took my schedule, looked it over, and handed it to me. "Yes, thank you, Quil, now if you'd please let Miss Wolfe speak for herself?"

"Right, sorry." Quil looked at me apologetically and slunk off to take one of the few seats left, which happened to be in the back and next to another empty seat. I knew where I was going to sit.

"So, Kora, is it?" Mr. Brock asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself? Obviously, you're not from around here." If I'd cared, I might have blushed at the reference to my light skin and the snicker it got from my staring peers. Luckily, I didn't. Care, I mean.

"I'm from New Mexico," I offered. Mr. Brock just stared, waiting for me to elaborate. Unwillingly, I did. "I'm only one fourth Quileute, so that's why I'm so blindingly pale." I tried to make light of my situation. I used to be great at that, but apparently I sucked at it now because no one laughed, they all just gaped or sneered. Actually, that's not entirely true. Quil laughed, but I was beginning to think he was a little biased for some reason. "Um, yeah, so I'm staying with my grandmother, Talia Walt." There was a flicker of recognition on a few faces, including Mr. Brock's. When he saw that I wasn't going to say anything more, he directed me to take a seat next to Quil.

"Wow," the large boy said, leaning towards me. "I think that's the most I've heard you say so far."

I just shrugged and ate my pop tart.

The period went by fairly fast. It was mostly just handing out papers and explaining what they were for. Quil and I chatted the entire time. Or, rather, Quil chatted and I listened the entire time. As the bell rang, I stuffed everything into my Jansport backpack and followed him out into the hall. He pointed me in the direction of my next class, then disappeared with a pleasant, "See you at lunch!"

I let myself get pulled along with the crowd, most of whom were pointing and whispering behind their hands. I did my best to ignore them, instead concentrating on the numbers over the doors as they passed by. _D-55…D-57…D-59. _There it was. I forced my way out of the parade of students and through the door of my creative writing class. Most of the seats were already taken, my classmates having made themselves quite comfortable before I arrived. Some hulk of a boy (I assumed this was one of the friends Quil warned me about) was even passed out in the back row. Everyone else was, of course, looking at me like I had five heads. The bell rang, and the teacher strolled in with it. She was a young and pretty woman with curly brown hair and skin that was, if it's possible, even paler than mine. She let the door slam closed behind her and walked over to drop her briefcase on her desk. The sleeping kid didn't even flinch.

The teacher gave me a quick once-over as she turned to scrawl her name on the board. "For those of you who don't know me," she said, "I'm Miss Prowley." I'm guessing that was mostly for my benefit. She turned to me. "Who are you?" The question wasn't belligerent, just curious.

"Um, Kora Wolfe," I responded, holding up my schedule. "I'm in this class."

Without even looking at the slip of paper, Miss Prowley nodded and smiled. "Welcome to creative writing class, Kora." She turned back to the bored and I just stood there awkwardly. Her eyes moved back to me. "Do you need something else?"

"No, um, it's just, uh, where should I sit?" I stuttered.

Miss Prowley surveyed me for a second, then looked around the room. There were a few random seats, most of them close to the front. I hoped she wouldn't make me sit near the front. Please, God, anything but the front. She pursed her lips, then said, "I know. Why don't you sit next to whichever boy you think is the cutest?" Okay, anything but the front, omitting _that_. Her statement seemed to gain everyone's attention, with the exception of the sleeping guy, who was still completely knocked out.

I gaped at her. "You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she asked.

"…No." And she didn't. Her face was 100 serious. She leaned against the side of the desk and waited. I inwardly groaned and outwardly grimaced. She was really going to make me do it. Reluctantly, I looked around the room. Most of the girls were giggling to themselves, but I noticed one was giving me a sympathetic look. She was sitting in front of the sleeping boy. As for the other boys in the class, most of them looked vaguely interested, and one of them looked almost expectant. I'll admit, he was cute. His skin was dark, though not as dark as some, and his eyes were shockingly blue. His hair was cropped short and was gelled into a messy look he probably thought was chic. If it wasn't for the smug look on his face, I might have picked him, but he was so obviously full of himself that I was immediately turned off. Besides, he was already surrounded by a faithful legion of girls. He didn't need another one.

At that point, I was distracted by a small white object whizzing through the air and nailing the sleeping kid on the top of the head. It cracked and crumbled, and I realized that Miss Prowley had thrown her chalk at him. I actually found that quite humorous, which was a surprise because I never found anything funny anymore. I might have laughed, but any giggles that formed instantly died in my throat when the boy, shouting something about tacos, jerked upright and looked around for a moment before locking eyes with me. To say he froze would be an understatement. He actually went completely _rigid_. It looked like someone electrocuted him or something, the way his body stiffened. His dark, soulful eyes grew to the size of saucers and his lips parted just enough to reveal the stark white of his teeth.

"Reina, move," Miss Prowley said. Her voice broke me out of whatever trance the kid's eyes had put me in. I looked over at her, then followed her gaze to the girl she was talking to.

"But, Miss Prowley!" the girl whined.

"Just do it."

Pouting, the girl gathered her things and moved to a different desk closer to the front. A second too late, I realized that Miss Prowley had assumed from our staring contest that I'd made my choice and thus forced the girl sitting next to the formerly sleeping boy to vacate her seat. Truthfully, I hadn't even really gotten a good look at the kid. I was too preoccupied by his eyes. I opened my mouth to protest, but Miss Prowley interrupted me.

"Sit," she said. There was a tone of finality to her voice, so I shut my mouth and sat. I risked a glance to my right, and saw that he was looking at me again. I blinked, taking in his strong jaw and cheekbones. Like Quil, this boy was also big and mature-looking for his age. His face shifted from awe to annoyance, and he wrinkled his nose like he smelled something funky. I looked away, focusing my attention on Miss Prowley instead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn his head away and look down, his long black hair not quite hiding his scowl. The girl on my left was giving me a dirty look. I guess she wasn't too pleased that I was sitting in her friend's seat.

It was going to be a long period.

Miss Prowley spent the next 45 minutes outlining the course for us and telling us what to expect. Though I tried to focus on what she was saying, my attention kept shifting to the boy next to me. Several times, I glanced his way and caught him looking at me with that same aggravated expression. Each time a shot of anger crossed his face as he looked away. What a weird kid.

"Look," he said as we packed up our supplies list towards the end of the period, "don't expect me to be all chummy with you just because you sit next to me or whatever."

Straightening up and slinging my bag over my shoulder, I realized he was looking at me. "Um, are you talking to me?" I asked.

"Who else?" he snapped. I winced.

"Sorry."

The girl who had the seat in front of him gave him a nasty look before turning to me. "Don't apologize to him," she said, then turned her eyes back to him. "What's the matter with you, Jacob?" He shuddered and pushed past her to the front of the room. She shook her head. "Don't mind him. He treats everyone like that lately. I'm Kim by the way." She smiled, and I noticed that she was pretty in an unconventional way with her wide cheekbones and small eyes. "You're Kora, right?" I nodded. Kim made a face. "You're really bugging about Jake's attitude, huh?"

I cocked my head to the side but my face remained blank. "Huh?"

"You seem bummed. It's understandable, since you think he's cute and all." She winked.

"What? No." Kim's brow furrowed. "I mean, I just don't like talking."

"Oh," she said. The bell rang and we started for the door. "So you don't think he's cute?" I gave a noncommittal shrug. "That's okay." She gave me an apologetic look as we entered the hall. It was an expression I was familiar with, though now it wasn't for the same reason as it was when it came from all the police, neighbors, and people I'd never met who showed up at the funeral. "I'm really sorry about Jake, anyway. Don't take it personally."

"I won't," I replied. Honestly, I didn't really care. He could dislike me all he wanted. It made no difference to me.

Kim smiled. "Good. Let me see your schedule." I handed it to her, and she cheerfully announced that my next class was on the way to hers so she could show me where it was.

I liked Kim. She was really nice, someone I could've been good friends with.

Unfortunately, friendship usually requires opening up to the other party, and that was something I was just incapable of doing.

**Aight, waddya think? I don't know about it yet. I'm still feeling out the characters and such. Let me know how you feel about it. Love you all!**

**-Gina**


	2. Ancient History

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best. ** **There was a question of when this story takes place, so I'll just answer that here. Spellbound takes place after Breaking Dawn. It's pretty much right after the summer of Bella and Edwards wedding, etc. (Assuming that all that happens, of course. Which it better, or angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what I will become.)**

**Anyways, on with the story! :)**

Chapter Two: Ancient History

**Kora**

Quil found me at lunch.

I don't know how he did it. I tried to hide away in the farthest corner of the cafeteria where no one could see me. He found me anyway, and didn't even wait for a response before he grabbed my lunch tray in one hand and my arm in the other and dragged me to a table in the center of the room. Everyone could see me. They paused to stare at me as I walked by, but when they saw Quil they quickly looked away. He's pretty intimidating.

I hardly noticed Kim at first. She was overshadowed by the four huge guys sitting around her. Quil really wasn't kidding when he made that comment about his friends. But she called my name brightly as Quil set my tray down next to her and pushed me down into the chair. He then took the seat on my other side. I vaguely recognized the kid across from me from my English class, but I didn't know the kid next to him or the one on Kim's other side.

"Hi," I said timidly. Everyone smiled and greeted me, with the exception of the boy from my creative writing class. He was sitting across the table and on the far left, and he shot me a rather irritated look before turning pointedly to scowl in the opposite direction. What was his name? Jason?

"Guys, this is Kora," Quil announced. "I found her in the office this morning looking lost and confused, so I took her under my wing." He playfully draped an arm across my shoulders. "Can we keep her?"

"She's not a dog, Quil," the kid from English said, then smiled at me. "I'm Embry. We have English together." I nodded.

Thankfully, Quil's arm dropped away from my shoulders. "Aw, but look at her. She's just a pup."

"She's _human_, Quil," said the kid next to Embry. His tone suggested that Quil really did need reminding that I wasn't some other species. "I'm Paul." He held up one hand in greeting, but didn't smile.

"And this is Jared," Kim piped up, pointing to the guy sitting on the other side of her. He smiled over the top of her head and wound his arm around her waist. So, they're together, then… "You've already met Jake…"

Oh, yeah. Jacob. That was his name.

At the sound of Kim mentioning him, he looked up and we locked eyes again. After a few tense moments he grimaced and looked away. "Hey," he grumbled, waving his hand vaguely in my direction. I looked at Quil, who rolled his eyes.

"Don't mind him, he's got more issues than Time Magazine," he said.

Jacob whirled on him. "Shut up!" he snapped with a ferocity that made me flinch involuntarily. I noticed his fingers were gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were growing pale.

"Chill out, Jake," Paul warned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the one with temper problems." Jacob didn't answer. Instead, he stood up and stalked out of the room. A teacher moved to stop him at the door, but seemed to think better of it. "What's _his_ problem?"

"Paul," Embry said, in the same tone that he might say "duh."

"Well, I mean, besides that. He's crazier than usual today."

"Well, that _was_ a little insensitive, Quil," Kim scolded. I stared down at my food, not really hungry. I started picking at the Styrofoam tray to give my fingers something to do. I knew a little about what they were speaking of. Kim was in my biology two class the period before, and had offered a vague explanation for her friend's attitude even though I hadn't asked for one. I didn't really care, but she told me anyway. She'd simply said that Jacob had his heart broken recently, which wasn't much of an excuse to be rude to people. If the world worked that way, then I should be allowed to yell hateful things at every person that crosses my path. No. Being in pain doesn't mean you're above the rules of proper social conduct. At least I _try_ to be nice. Whether I come across that way or not is another thing entirely.

"He's not the first person to get the runaround," Quil sniffed. "That doesn't mean he gets to be rude to whoever he wants." It was like he was speaking my thoughts out loud. He leaned in suddenly and sniffed my shoulder, a thoughtful look on his face. I cocked my head at him, wondering if I smelled bad or something. I remembered the look on Jacob's face when I first sat down, the way he'd wrinkled his nose. Maybe I should shower in the morning. Then again, I wasn't looking to impress anyone. "Interesting." I just kept staring at him, along with everyone else at the table. "You smell," he cast his friends a meaningful look, "sweet."

"What?" I asked.

"Quil," Jared said, his tone stern.

"Sorry." He leaned away from me and said no more. I looked down, but didn't miss the raised eyebrows he was given. There was a long silence, in which I pretended not to notice the hard looks I was getting from the rest of the guys.

"So…what do you have next, Kora?" Kim asked to break the silence.

"Gym," I answered with a shrug.

"Me and Paul have gym next too," Embry said. "We can take you there."

"Cool."

Embry exchanged a look with Quil. "So does Jake."

"Cool."

"We'll protect you," Quil promised. I shrugged. Again.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Paul inquired.

"No," I replied. I didn't like talking when my father couldn't. My hand moved to my left shoulder absentmindedly. I couldn't feel the two crescent shaped scars through my sweater, but I knew they were there. They'd already been healed when I was found, passed out on the living room floor. I was lucky in ways my father wasn't. I'd already said my Rights on my Datemark that month, already repaid the Earth with my chosen Token. One little strand of animal hair and a single drop of blood returned to the ground every thirteenth day of the month secured my safety. My father's Datemark wasn't until the twentieth, the day after his murder. One more day, and he could have lived.

But he didn't.

I stared down at my food, considering the ice gray eyes that had stared back at me from the mirror that morning. Gray, because the color was gone. Gray, because the power was missing. Gray, because I had not said my Rights the month before. Gray, because I was incomplete.

The Brotherhood was once a widespread and powerful group of warlocks. Yes, you read that correctly. No, they didn't conjure plagues or curse families. What they _did_ do was use the little extra spark of energy in their blood to commune with the Earth and share its power.

At a price. By linking themselves to the Earth with blood, the Brothers also gave a little bit of their own humanity away. A little piece of the original seven Brothers (all of whom were, as their chosen title suggests, biological brothers) was traded to the Earth through their blood in exchange for the power to weald the elements and gain abilities no normal human could possibly possess. In place of that piece of humanity the Brothers were given what can only be described as an alternate base in their DNA, though I'm sure that this is beyond anything science can deduce.

Each Brother took a sample from the animal of his choice, and burned it together with his own blood. In that way, they bonded themselves and their posterity to whichever animal they chose. If you ask me, they cursed themselves and every firstborn son to come after them. I was the only exception, the only firstborn ever to be female. Before me, there was never any deviation from the original setup. Of course, I suppose it was somewhat inevitable for the course to change. The bloodlines of six original Brothers dwindled and disappeared over the years, some descendants vanishing somewhat mysteriously or, in some cases, dying violently.

I was the last Brother, and the first Sister. And I was bound to, of all things, a simple house cat.

My great-great-great-however-many-greats-grandfather, Louis Wolf the first, was an indecisive man and, if you ask me, pretty damn stupid. He couldn't decide what animal he wanted to bond with until the deadline, the very night of the Ceremony. As a last resort, he plucked a single hair from his mother's Maine coon and rushed off into the woods.

According to my father, Louis Wolf the first figured that he just needed to give a little more blood than his brothers and it would create a bond to a stronger type of cat. He was hoping a leopard, or maybe a tiger. But, alas, no. He was bonded to your everyday run-of-the-mill house pet version from which he'd taken his sample. Figures.

But anyway, thus is the reason why I am cursed to say my Rights and renew my powers every thirteenth day of the month. My Datemark, the day of the month that I was born. My actual birthday was in April, but my Datemark was every month.

My lack of complying to said curse is most likely the reason behind the dark shadows under my eyes, though the night terrors I experienced routinely also added to my exhaustion.

But I just couldn't do it. Without my dad, I didn't care. I didn't care that if I went too long without my Rights I wouldn't be able to control my ability to shift. I didn't care that if I kept pushing my limits with the exhaustion I could fall to the ground writhing in pain and transform right in the middle of the cafeteria. I didn't care that I couldn't do the things I'd grown up taking advantage of.

Who cares if I can't light a candle with my fingertip or make clouds gather and rain down on just one house? Who cares if I can't tell what my cat is thinking or knock a person over with just a fleeting thought?

I don't.

And as for shifting, I'd deal with that problem when it came to me. I was too tired to worry about anything besides keeping away the flashbacks and covering up the serrated hole in my heart with so much nothingness that I couldn't feel it anymore. I could lessen it to a dull ache and take it from there.

"Helloooo, Earth to Kora! Come in Kora!" I blinked and shook my head, pulling my mind out of the past and focusing instead on Quil, who was waving his hand in my face and trying to get my attention.

"Sorry," I said. "What?"

"You gonna eat that?" he asked, pointing to the slice of pizza I hadn't touched at all. Without a word, I pushed the entire tray towards him. "Sweet!" As he gobbled it down, the bell rang shrilly through the room.

"Shall we?" Paul inquired, eyeing me with an air of consternation. I guess the whole retreating into my head thing weirded them out. I noticed he was standing and stood up myself.

"Okay." My voice was soft, as always. I used to be the loudest, most outgoing person you could ever meet. Old Kora hates New Kora. New Kora doesn't give a damn.

I followed Paul and Embry through the halls, one of them on either side of me. They were tall enough to talk over my head comfortably, so they did, which was all right with me. We walked into the gym and they marched me right up to a tall woman in sweats with a whistle around her neck and a clipboard in her hand.

"Miss B, this is Kora Wolfe," Embry said. Paul snickered. What was so damn funny about my name? "She's new this year." I automatically held out my schedule for her to examine.

Miss B looked at the sheet, then jerked her head in a quick nod. "We're just going over rules today." She motioned towards the bleachers that apparently folded into the gym wall when they weren't in use. Several groups of students were milling about on them already. Jacob was sitting all the way at the top in the farthest corner. I pretended not to notice him staring. "Just have a seat for today on the right with the rest of the juniors. Make sure you brink clothes to change into tomorrow, because we're starting on the football unit right away." I couldn't keep myself from visibly recoiling and letting out a small squeak of displeasure. Football. A picture flashed into my head; a televised game with the volume turned up all the way. Little drops of blood peppered the screen.

"You okay?" Embry asked. He was leading me away from Miss B, towards the bleachers.

"Yes," I lied.

"You don't look okay."

"I don't like sports." That was true enough.

"Oh all right." We'd reached the bottom of the bleachers, and Embry and Paul started up towards Jacob. I stayed where I was, and Embry turned to me when he realized I wasn't next to him. "You coming?"

"I think I'll stay here." Just because I didn't care what Jacob thought of me didn't mean I wanted to invoke his wrath. Besides, nice as they were, Embry and Paul were his friends, not mine. I wouldn't invade their space. I'd just create my own.

"Why?" Paul asked. Embry elbowed him in the ribs and opened his mouth to say something.

"I'm afraid of heights," I lied before he could speak.

"Oh," Embry said, surprised. Apparently, he had some other idea. Probably involving Jacob. He would have been right.

"Go," I said, waving them away, then turned and sat down on the bottom row. There was a moment of silent hesitation, then I heard them stomping away up the bleachers. I sighed heavily and leaned my head in my hands. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths and tried to rid my mind of the terrible visions passing through it. All I could see was my father's wedding ring glistening on the finger of his severed arm at my feet.

The blood, the beautiful and deadly creature, the carnage- it all matched the descriptions of the other descendant's deaths. The Brotherhood kept a journal of events passed down through the years. I had it now, and I'd read it cover to cover multiple times in an attempt to find a way out of my curse. It held no solution, only descriptions of Ceremonies performed and Rights spoken and, towards the end, brutal and vicious deaths. At least six Brothers were known to be dead, their bodies found in their own homes, mutilated, their veins empty but not quite enough blood on the floor to coincide with the amount missing. The blood had to have gone somewhere else.

Several other Brothers simply disappeared without a trace.

My grandfather had to watch them all go, never knowing if and when he would be next. Somehow, he managed to survive all of his relations, and pass the journal and its teachings on to my father, and then it came to me.

Those descriptions, the drawings scribbled in the margins, they all matched up to what had happened to my father. The scene, burned into my retinas, seemed to slide into place right over the rough sketches and terrifying reports.

The question was, why? Why would anyone do such terrible things to such wonderful people? The Brotherhood only had one rule: Help others before thyself. They lived by that rule. They practically burned that rule right onto their foreheads. Why would someone slay beings that dedicated their lives to the greater good? Why would someone kill my father, the most incredible, loving, selfless dad and husband on the planet? _Why?_

And when were they coming for _me_?

"Are you sure you're all right?" Embry's voice interrupted my brooding. I looked up, blinking in the fluorescent lights after having my palms pressed against my closed eyes for so long. He was sitting next to me. I hadn't even heard him coming. Usually I was good at that kind of stuff.

"Yes," I replied. He looked over his shoulder and nodded. I followed his gaze. Jacob was giving him a disbelieving look. His eyes flickered momentarily to my face, and when he saw that I was looking he frowned and turned away. I looked back at Embry, who was watching me contemplatively. "Really, I'm okay. Thank you for your concern." My voice was flat, as always. I hoped he'd mistake my monotone for honesty.

He didn't. I saw the flicker of it in his eyes. He knew I was lying, but he nodded anyway. "Okay." With that, Embry stood and walked back up to his friends. I watched him go, slightly interested in the way Jacob seemed to start arguing with him as soon as he got back. Catching my eye, Jacob scowled, an expression I instinctively returned. I turned away quickly, before I started to actually feel angry towards him. I couldn't risk such a feeling. Once one got out, more would follow. I'd be torn apart.

I prayed for the day to end already.

When the period was over, Paul caught up with me as I walked into the hallway.

"Hey, Quil told me you have math with us next," he said. "I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks."

Paul was silent as we walked, which was a bit of a relief. He didn't chatter on endlessly like Quil or ask me over and over again if I was okay like Embry.

"Are you feeling well?"

Perhaps I spoke too soon.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm just tired."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can take you down to the nurse if you want."

"I said I'm fine," I snapped. Checking myself, I looked down. "Thanks anyway," I said, somewhat apologetically.

He didn't say anything else after that.

The algebra teacher, Mr. D, seemed to be already aware of who I was and why I was there. He motioned me off to a seat in the middle of the room, next to Quil who grinned and gave me the thumbs up sign. I guess that's how Mr. D knew me. I timidly walked over to the seat, not so happy about its placement, but oh well. You can't win all the time.

Paul followed and plopped down into the empty chair on my other side, then gave me a strange look. "You _do_ smell sweet," he said, leaning in to get a good whiff. I recoiled, but he just smiled. "But just a little. Do you have a cat?"

"Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder?" I shot back. "I mean, yes." I thought of Binx, my orange tabby named for the character in _Hocus Pocus_. He wandered up to me as a kitten when I was ten and, as soon as he was big enough, he started to follow me everywhere. And I mean _everywhere._ He was probably outside the classroom window at that very second.

Paul laughed. "You can be funny when you loosen up."

I shrugged.

"Hey Kora," Quil said. "We're all going to hang out on the beach for a while after school. Wanna come?"

"I don't think so," I declined, shaking my head.

"Aw, come on, why not?" he pleaded. For the trillionth time that day, I just shrugged. "Please? It'll be fun. Kim will be there. It was her idea to invite you. Come on." He continued whining for five straight minutes until I finally gave in.

"Fine. I'll go." _But I won't have any fun. _I thought of Jacob's apparent disdain for me. I wasn't looking forward to dealing with _that_ again.

"Yeah!" Quil exclaimed, getting a look from Mr. D. Lowering his voice, he continued, "We caught ourselves a Wolfe, Paul!" He cackled.

Paul just rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Quil."

**As always, I hope you enjoyed! Leave reviews if you so desire. I love those darned reviews. I huggle every review I get………**

**-Gina**


	3. Conflicted

**As always, thanks so much for the reviews! It makes me so happy to hear that people are enjoying my stories! :)**

**Aaaanyways, this chapter's a little different. I really, really hope Jacob is in character. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.**

Chapter Three: Conflicted

**Jacob**

I can't believe they invited her.

It was supposed to be a nice, lazy afternoon with my friends. I was supposed to be able to relax and not worry about watching what I say. But no, not only do I have to be careful about what I say, I also have to try and ignore the urge to watch _her _every move.

What was I supposed to do? I needed to be near her. I needed to talk to her, draw her out of whatever shell she's hiding behind. I needed to touch her hair and listen to her voice, telling me every last detail about her. It wasn't enough to make Embry or Paul ask her if she's okay. I needed to ask her myself why she looked so sad, why she watched the world through such broken eyes.

But I didn't _want_ to. To put it bluntly, she scared the hell out of me. That sadness, that utterly destroyed look on her face…it was so familiar. _Too_ familiar. I was scared because I knew that look, I could see through it, and I _needed_ to fix her. And, God, did she need fixing. We could all see it. It was in her carefully blank expression, and the way she moved. She didn't like being touched, that made her flinch. If anyone did or said anything too suddenly or surprised her in any way she nearly jumped out of her skin. She tried so hard to keep a wall up, to stop us from seeing, but every now and then there was a flicker of doubt. And there was also fear. _What are you afraid of?_ I wanted to ask. _What can I do?_

That was why I did what I did. If I could, I wanted to forget those needs. They aren't good. They aren't _right_. I don't _want_ them. I resented her for showing up here, now, disrupting my grief. I wanted to hate her for it, but I couldn't. It wasn't her fault that I was a monster. It wasn't her fault I had this weird, gravity-shifting, undeniable connection to her. She didn't plan for this to happen. But still, I needed someone to blame, and _she_ came to _me_.

Okay, okay. She didn't really "come to me," but she _did_ come to my reservation. That was something. I was here first, and then she just showed up out of the blue and WHAM. Just like that. I was changed, and I hated it. I didn't want to need her, but I couldn't help it.

And the worst part was, I wasn't even supposed to _be_ here.

All I wanted was to shift and run, give in to my baser instincts and escape this life. But the pack needed me, and that was the only reason I came back. There was a disturbance. Something was killing hikers in the woods again, and it sure as hell wasn't a bear. I had to come back. Now I was wishing I hadn't. If I hadn't come back I wouldn't be obsessing over some random white girl who wasn't _my_ white girl.

That was the center of my irritation. She wasn't Bella, but she reminded me so much of her. The sadness, the frailty, it was just like Bella had been before that leech had come back. Bella, my Bella. All I wanted to do was mourn her, but this _Kora_ had to come and ruin everything.

She had to come and ruin _me_.

So there I was, sitting in the sand, watching her and contemplating all the conflicting emotions I was having. I was guilty because I yearned for someone other than the girl I loved, angry because I couldn't help myself, sad because I knew I would never see my Bella again, and above all completely and utterly depressed.

And I didn't know what to do about it. All I could do was watch her, anxiously, wary of Paul and Quil roughhousing nearby and Embry tossing rocks along the beach. I was totally on edge. And okay, okay, I'll admit it- I was worried. As dumb as it probably is, I was suddenly seeing danger in _everything_. Kora wasn't like me. She was fragile, soft, and so incredibly breakable. What if a spark from Jared's little fire landed on her jeans? She was sitting so close, she could easily get burned. What if Paul got overexcited and shifted? She was right there next to him. He didn't even need to shift, really. All it would take was one little miscalculation and his fist could miss Quil and…

"Damn it," I growled, pulling myself up. I walked silently behind Kora and sat down on the other side of her, putting myself between my stupid friends and the damned breakable human that I couldn't keep myself from protecting. She didn't even notice the change. Her eyes hadn't left the fire since it started. The flames reflected in her silver-gray irises, giving them the look of liquid gold. I hissed, thinking of the bloodsuckers. But, no. Their eyes were frozen, cold. Kora's eyes were on fire. She sat completely still except for one hand moving rhythmically in her lap. From the new angle, I saw for the first time the orange tabby cat curled beneath her stroking fingers. Where did _that_ thing come from? I'd though she smelled a little like a cat. Isn't that just my luck? First, a leech-lover. Now, a _cat_ person.

Oh ha, ha. I'm really glad my life is a source of such amusement to someone upstairs. I certainly don't find it very entertaining at all.

A light breeze blew across the beach. Kora's hair fluttered in it and I caught a whiff of her scent. It was true- she did have a little bit of that sickeningly sweet scent carried by vampires. But it wasn't half as bad as the real deal. Her scent was like one spray of perfume while the bloodsuckers were the entire bottle dumped on one concentrated area. Kora's scent was actually kind of appealing, despite the feline aspect. She also smelled vaguely of apples and…incense?

The wind picked up a little, and I forced my eyes away from her, instead focusing on the water. It had gotten suddenly very dark and dangerous-looking. Clouds were rolling in. Another storm. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Who wants to go for a swim?" Quil called, running towards the water.

"Don't be stupid," I shouted in reply. At the sound of my voice, Kora jumped and glanced at me under her eyelashes. The cat in her lap stood up and stretched, then pawed at her hand.

"No, Binx," she mumbled. Her voice was low, and if it weren't for my enhanced senses, I wouldn't have heard her. "I can't hear you now. I don't know what you want." I narrowed my eyes at her. She was one of _those_ cat people, huh? The kind that thinks she can have full conversations with her pet? Cool. That totally figures. Kora looked up and her eyes grew wide when she noticed me watching her. I saw the flicker of fear pass over her features, just for a moment. Maybe I wasn't the only scared party.

Quil, of course, was splashing around in the water already. "Come on in! The water's great!"

"Seriously, Quil, stop being such an idiot," I ordered. He grudgingly complied, sloshing his way back up onto the beach. It probably wasn't fair of me to pull rank in everyday life, but I didn't want him tempting Kora into that water. No way.

"Why do you gotta be such a Debbie Downer, Jake?" Quil asked.

"Because not everyone can handle those tides, moron," I snapped. My eyes shifted involuntarily to Kora, who was trying to placate her mewing cat.

"He's right, Quil," Jared agreed, his arm tightening around Kim. "We don't need anyone getting swept away."

Quil rolled his eyes. "I wasn't gonna let anything happen to anyone." He looked at Kora. "We'll go swimming next time," he promised.

She looked up. "Sorry?"

"Not in weather like this, you aren't," I warned. They both looked at me, Kora blankly and Quil annoyed.

"Okay, Dad," he said, sarcastically.

I jumped to my feet, forgetting for a moment to tone down my speed. "Don't start that crap with me right now Quil. I'm not in the mood."

"You're never in the mood," he shot back. What was left of the relaxing atmosphere completely dissolved. "You're no fun anymore, Jake. You gotta lighten up. Just because Bella-"

"Don't!" I shouted, shuddering at the sound of her name out loud. It was too soon. Everything was too soon. "Don't you say _anything_ about her." I clenched and unclenched my fists. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about, Jake. We _all_ do."

"Not in mixed company, Quil." My hands were shaking, and I could feel my skin tingle, my bones shift and swell in anticipation. I was so _angry_. Who did he think he was, bringing up Bella like that in front of everyone? In front of Kora? Just because he knew about it didn't give him the right to talk about her.

"Jacob," Paul warned. How strange, the way our rolls were suddenly reversed. It was usually _us_ trying to calm _him_.

I gritted my teeth and glared at Quil. He returned the scowl. Slowly, the shaking receded. My bones relaxed and my skin no longer felt like it was about to burst right off of my body. Neither of us moved. I wondered if he realized what he'd done to me by saying her name out loud. Did he know that I was in agony on the inside? Did he know anger was the easier emotion to deal with?

"You can't keep acting like a jerk just because you're hurting, Jacob," Quil said. "News flash: You're not the first person to feel that way."

"You need to just shut up, Quil," I snapped.

"But he's right," a small voice piped in. Everyone collectively turned to look at a completely shocked Kora. She looked like she couldn't believe she'd actually said something.

"What?" I seethed.

When her eyes met mine, her nervousness dissolved. In its place, determination settled over her features. It was the first time I saw a real emotion on her face. I never knew a furrowed brow could be so beautiful. I grew more annoyed at that thought.

"Quil is right," Kora said. "You're acting like your pain gives you some kind of license to hurt other people." I opened my mouth to argue, but she didn't give me the chance. "Look, I don't know you, but I do know a thing or two about pain. And you should know that being an asshole isn't going to help. Maybe you'll feel better for a second, or maybe it's just easier to be a jerk, but you're just pushing away people who can help you. As for me," she pointed to herself, "I don't know why you don't like me but you can go right ahead. Hate me if you want to. I don't really give a damn either way. Just don't do shit like that to the people who really matter." I just gaped at her. I was honestly surprised. How do you respond to something like that? I felt as if she'd reached in and pulled out the worst of me and calmly pointed out each flaw. What the hell?

"Who _are _you?" I asked finally.

Kora looked bewildered again. The resolve left her expression and she was back to the blank look she usually wore. In response to my question, she shrugged. "I should go," she mumbled, looking down at her cat as she spoke. It had been sitting obediently at her feet, but at her words it stood and started down the beach. "Um, sorry." Without another word, she turned and followed that damned cat all the way down the beach. I stared after her until she disappeared behind the trees.

"Whoa," Quil breathed. "She is something else, huh?"

"Yeah…" I mused. "I mean, what is _up_ with her?"

Quil looked at me. "I have no clue."

I wanted to find out.

Did I just say _want_ed?

A fat drop of rain landed on the top of my head. I looked up and another landed on my forehead, followed by another, and another, until it was suddenly pouring from the sky. Kim and Jared rushed around to gather up the snacks and things and we made a run for the car. Everyone piled in except for me. I closed the door behind Kim as she got inside.

"I'm going to walk," I said simply.

"All right, man," Jared replied. I watched them disappear down one road before trudging down another. I wanted to take the long road home, so I could think.

Kora was probably right. I was acting like a jerk. But what did she know about it? She doesn't _know _me. She doesn't know anything _about_ me! What made her think she could just spout off to me like that?

I sloshed through the mud, grumbling to myself about Kora while also wondering if she made it home okay. The rain had started moments after she left. She was probably walking home in it right that second. I stopped in my tracks and looked around. I had to find her and make sure…

But, no, I couldn't do that. If her little speech was any indication, she hated me and probably didn't want my help.

That, and I had no clue where she lived or what direction she might have gone in.

I sighed and kept walking. Maybe Dad heard something about her. Maybe I could persuade him to call and find out if she's all right. I know, I know, kind of stalker-ish, but I was worried. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. She was new. How long ago did she move here? What if she didn't know her way around the rez yet? She could be lost. She could wind up wandering around in the rain for hours trying to find her house.

"Aw, hell," I groaned, and picked up my pace until I was flat out running home.

If Billy wouldn't call, I _would_.

…………………………………………………

**Kora**

Everything I'd done, all the careful hiding, the packing away of all the emotions I couldn't face, was ruined. And for what? A short little rant to some random jerk? What has gotten into me? One second I was just listening to their argument and the next I was jumping into it head first. And all that earned me was probably the dislike of the entire group.

I guess I got what I wanted. No friends, no sharing, right? I achieved that easily enough. The only people in the school who didn't cringe away from me because I was different, and I'd shot everything to hell.

And now I was stumbling along the street in the mud and rain, trying hard just to breathe. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered, not only because of the cold air biting through my soaked sweater. The dull ache in my chest was rising up, blooming, opening to its full extent. In moments, it had filled me up from head to toe. The rain could hide the tears, but not the violent shaking sobs that were rolling through my body. I could hardly see. I tried to focus on the sopping wet ginger blur of Binx. He knew the way home, so I was following him.

I hated to show up on Aunt Talia's doorstep looking like such a mess. My poor mother was going to have an aneurysm. As if she doesn't have enough grief of her own, she had the added stress of worrying about me. Then again, she avoided any kind of comfort unless it was convenient.

She was probably already awake when I started screaming that morning.

The little blue house looked so inviting as I trudged up the walkway, still sobbing. The door opened before I even got all the way up the steps. Mom rushed out and ushered me inside where my sobs suddenly seemed a thousand times louder without the rain to drown them out.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, worry creasing her pretty caramel-colored brow. My beautiful half-Indian mother was contorting her face because of her stupid white daughter who couldn't handle her own feelings. "What happened to you? Oh goodness."

Aunt Talia appeared with a towel. I continued to cry, gasping for air between sobs, as my mother pulled my soaked sweater over my head and peeled off my jeans and socks. Talia swept over to wrap me in the towel and then Mom practically carried me into the guest bedroom where she tucked me safely into her little twin bed. She sat with me until my sobs died away, but didn't ask about what happened again. Instead, as always, she just kissed my forehead and walked away. That was her philosophy, a kiss can fix anything. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch her close the door on me.

Why couldn't I fix myself? Why did I wish so hard that she would hold me, cry with me, mourn with me? Why did I let myself feel so much anger towards her for it? That little twin bed suddenly felt very cold. I hugged myself, trying to put the terrible emotions back in their little box in the corner of my heart. It was so hard.

I thought of my dad, laughing and smiling, showing me a new trick when I was younger. He was always so happy and excited. Wide-eyed, he would teach me how to do each thing. I tried to think of what it would be like if he were with me then. "Silly Kitten,"he would say. "What are you doing? Why're you just laying there? Get up. I've got something new to show you!" And I would get up, and he would show me something new and exciting that I could do with my powers- the powers I was determined to never use again. "Let's try that barrier spell one more time," he'd say. "I know you'll get it this time, Kitty."

"Kora, wake up." My eyes fluttered open. Aunt Talia was standing over me with the cordless phone in her hand. The rain had stopped, I noticed. Talia leaned down to turn on the light on the bedside table. "There's someone on the phone for you."

I blinked, confused. "Who?"

She raised her eyebrows. "A young man. You probably know him from school. Jacob Black?"

I sat up and shook my head. "Wait, _who_?"

"Jacob Black," she repeated. I gaped at her until she finally sighed in exasperation. "Really, Koraline. Don't look so shocked." She covered the bottom of the phone with her hand and lowered her voice. "This is the third time he's called. I tried to let you sleep as long as I could but I just couldn't take it anymore. It felt like Grand Central Station!" She shoved the phone into my hand. "Talk to the boy already. He's been very anxious to talk to you." She paused. "Obviously." With that said, she disappeared into the hallway.

Slowly, I raised the phone to my ear. "Um, hello?"

"Kora," Jacob sighed. I was confused by the way he said my name, like he'd been holding his breath and suddenly let it out with that one word.

"Uh, yeah?"

He was quiet for a second. "I just, um, I wanted to…I was…I just wanted to make sure you made it home okay."

"Oh," I said. "That's weird."

"You're very blunt," he muttered.

I shrugged, but then, realizing he couldn't see me, said, "Yes." There was a short, slightly awkward silence. "Didn't Aunt Talia or someone tell you I was here the first time you called?"

"Oh…oh well, uh, yeah. She did." I could hear in his voice how embarrassed he was. I guess I wasn't supposed to know about the multiple calls. "But she said you weren't feeling well."

I tugged on a stray thread on the blanket. "Oh. Well I'm fine now." It was somewhat true. I was slightly closer to the comfortable numb I was used to. Or at least, I had been until I found out who was on the phone for me. Why was Jacob, of all people, calling to check on me? And _three times_?

"Oh…well…that's good." Another awkward silence. "Right. I, uh, just wanted to make sure."

"Why?" I blurted.

"Why?" he repeated.

Well, might as well stick to it now that I'd already asked. "Yeah, why did you call my grandmother three times just to talk to me, Jacob?"

"I just wanted to be sure you're okay, all right?" His voice was aggravated.

"Yeah, but you don't even _like_ me Jacob." The irritation in his voice caused me to feel slightly annoyed, which was weird. I hadn't felt even that simple of an emotion in a long time. "Actually, you've made it a point to make it quite _clear_ that you don't like me."

He made a noise that was something between a grunt and a growl. "I don't not like you, okay?"

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me. "I'm sure." Was I being sarcastic? Where did that come from?

"It's true." Jacob's suddenly soft tone took me off guard. My irritation immediately died and I couldn't think of anything to say to that. "It's just…look, I'm sorry, all right? I was a jerk. I just…" He trailed off.

I pulled the thread out of the blanket and twirled it between my fingers, watching the way it seemed to make a solid circle when I spun it real fast. "It's okay."

"No, it's not, but thanks for saying it anyway." The corner of my mouth actually curled up a little at that. Weird, weird, _weird_.

"It really is okay, Jacob."

"Sure, sure." His tone seemed to wave it aside.

"How did you get this number, anyway?" I asked.

"My dad's on the council. He knows _everyone_."

"Ah." The thread frayed a little between my fingernails. It was surprising how easy I was finding it to talk to him. "Jacob…"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"No, what?"

"It's not worth asking."

"You can ask me anything, Kora." I bit my lip. Something in his voice actually made me _blush_. I looked down while I contemplated how to phrase my question and blushed harder when I realized I was in my bra and underwear. I hugged the blanket to my chest.

"Well, I was just wondering…if you don't not like me, then why were you acting like that?" He was silent for so long I actually thought he'd hung up.

"You…remind me…of someone," he said finally. "That's really all I can tell you."

"Oh…kay." There was a crackling sound in the phone.

"Hurry up, I need the phone," Tim said. Apparently, he'd picked up on the other line.

"All right, Tim," I replied. "Get the hell off the line."

"Whoa, who the hell are you?"

"Tim, hang up!"

"Okay, whoever you are." There was a click, and the sound was back to normal.

After a short silence, Jacob said, "Well that was rude."

"Tim's middle _name_ is rude." He laughed. I liked the sound.

"Yeah, well, be glad you didn't have to grow up with him."

"I'll be sure to thank the Big Guy when I say my prayers tonight." What was happening to me? Was I really making jokes? I bit my lip, feeling slightly guilty. I shouldn't let myself get carried away like this. I owed my dad more than a month and a half of mourning. That thought sobered me up. "Um, I'd better go."

"All right. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Cool, cool. Er…goodnight, then."

"Yeah. 'Night Jacob."

"And Kora?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

He hung up before I could ask him what he was thanking me for.

**Okay, so, you got a little taste of what Jake's been thinking. I tried to keep him as in character as I possibly could but, since I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't really know Jacob Black as well as her. I hope you liked it anyway, though!**

**-Gina**


	4. Invitation Only

**So, _Breaking Dawn_ in T-minus two days and three hours as of the moment I am typing this. I'm totally dressing up for the release party. Cosplay _Twilight_! Bwahaha. Ahem. Anyway, thanks for the lovely reviews. You keep me motivated! Enjoy the chapter. :)**

Chapter Four: Invitation Only

**Kora**

I didn't realize I was awake when I first regained consciousness the next morning. I found it strange, and also hard to believe, that I had actually slept peacefully through the night. But, rather than entering awareness screaming and thrashing, I instead was awoken by my mother's gentle shakes, like any other normal teenager.

No dreams, no night terrors. I actually felt a little bit more rested than I had in weeks. Other than that, though, I was pretty much back to normal. Well, not normal, but the normal I'd grown accustomed to over the preceding month. My emotions were reined back in again and safely tucked away in a corner of my chest where they remained inconspicuous.

But still, I couldn't figure out how I'd managed to get away with such a wonderful, dreamless sleep. After the day I'd had, how could I possibly avoid a nightmare? I thought I'd be plagued by the worst visions yet after a breakdown like I'd had. However, I got instead a dead sleep during which my subconscious had put my emotions back where they belonged.

I took a shower after I rolled out of bed, since I hadn't taken one the night before. The hot water felt good after walking through the pouring rain and sleeping in my underwear. It eased a little of the tension in my muscles.

I was halfway through my bowl of Cheerios before I was reminded of Jacob's call.

"So I hear you got a call from a boy last night," Mom said, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

I choked on my mouthful of cereal and gulped down some coffee before replying. "Um, yeah."

She raised her eyebrows at me suggestively. "I also hear he called more than once. He was pretty desperate to get a hold of you."

I shrugged and stared into my bowl. I didn't know what she wanted me to say. It wasn't like I knew what was going on in Jacob Black's head. Mom sat down on the other side of the table and watched me speculatively. I pointedly ignored her. Tim shuffled into the room in his usual polo and khakis and grabbed a protein shake from the fridge. He was on the soccer team, and all about Slim Fast and rice cakes. Taking a swig from the can, he eyed me over the rim of it.

"So who wanted to talk to _you_ so bad, anyway?" he asked, wiping his mouth on his bare arm. "I couldn't talk to Sarah more than five minutes before the call waiting went off."

"Nobody," I replied, flinching. I really didn't want to talk about this.

"Right. "Nobody" called here three times asking for you." He rolled his eyes.

"Mind your own business, Timothy," Aunt Talia said, strolling into the kitchen to save me from further interrogation. Tim just made a face and chugged the rest of his shake.

"I'm leaving if you want a ride," he said, and walked out of the room. I stood, dumped my dishes in the sink, and grabbed my backpack on my way out the front door. I didn't even bother saying goodbye to my mother. Before Dad was killed, she would send me off with a smile every morning and tell me to have a good day. Now, she just sat with her morning coffee, absorbed in her latest dime store novel. Whatever. "So I saw you were hanging 'round with that Quil and his gang at lunch yesterday," Tim said as we drove down the little road towards school. I shrugged. "And after school too." I didn't respond at all. "I don't like those guys."

"I don't like your attitude," I wanted to say. But I didn't. I just stared out the window.

"They think they're all high and mighty just because they've got good blood," he continued. "Especially that Jacob Black." I started paying attention again, turning my head a fraction of an inch towards him as we pulled into the school parking lot. "He thinks real highly of himself 'cause he's a direct descendant of the last real chief." Tim scoffed and parked abruptly in the closest space. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. "You should stay away from that crowd." What did he care? I paused with one foot out on the pavement and looked back at him.

"You should keep your nose out of my business," I stated blandly, then pulled myself out of the car while he was still gaping. Before slamming the door, I leaned down to look in at his incredulous expression. "And by the way, if you must know, the guy who called me last night was Jacob Black." If I'd had it in me, I would've laughed out loud at his expression, but I didn't get very much enjoyment out of provoking Tim.

He chased after me as I walked through the courtyard. "What did _he_ want?" The way his voice wrapped around the words made it sound like there was no possible way the answer to his question could be positive.

So, I gave him what he expected. "Just my soul. But I don't have one, so I promised him yours instead."

Tim glared at me. "Don't be a bitch, Kora." I just blinked at him.

"Don't be a jerk, Tim," Kim's voice responded. Out of nowhere, she was next to us, flanked on either side by Jared and Paul. Tim looked like he was going to say something nasty, but when he caught the "I dare you" look on Jared's face he shut his mouth and stalked away. I sighed as Kim fell in step with me on my right and Paul strolled along on my left. Jared kept pace with his girlfriend, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that," she said.

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"Sure it does! Tim's a jerk."

"I guess."

"It's a known fact," Jared agreed. "And it was just proved when he called you a bitch."

"Maybe I am one," I offered in my usual monotone.

"No way," Paul argued.

I stopped mid-step, suddenly thinking of something. They stopped with me. "You guys don't hate me?"

"Why would we hate you?" Kim asked, looking confused.

"What I said. At the beach." I needed to work on limiting my words before I started getting carried away again.

"What? That thing with Jake? Nah, he had it coming," Paul chuckled, then sobered rather quickly. "Not that he's a bad guy. I mean, he's really, er, nice…usually."

Jared nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Yeah, Jake's great. You should give him another chance. He'll warm up to you." Kim rolled her eyes.

"Uh, okay," I said. Paul and Jared exchanged a grin. We came to a stop at a little bench at the edge of the courtyard, right next to the door. Embry and Quil were sprawled out, taking up the entire seat. Quil's head was hanging back and he was dead asleep.

"Where _is_ Jake, anyway?" Jared asked.

Embry blinked groggily up at us. "Sleeping in," he replied. He sounded a little irritated. "Hey, Kora. How're you feeling?"

I couldn't help it. My eyebrows shot up. "How am I feeling?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. You were tired yesterday, right? And, y'know, I was wondering if you felt any better."

"Oh. Yes." In terms of energy.

Embry smiled. "Excellent." He suddenly jumped to his feet, making me take an involuntary step back. He pretended not to notice, his smile never wavering. "If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call before the bell rings. I forgot my, um, book, for that one class. Yeah." Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared into the mass of students heading inside.

I looked at Paul. "Is he always such a bad liar?" He and Jared laughed loudly and Quil jerked suddenly into consciousness.

"Worse, usually," Jared replied.

"Kora!" Quil said, sounding tired but still managing to be weirdly enthusiastic. "Good morning! How you feeling this fine and lovely day?" It was already drizzling. I looked up at the clouds, then back at Quil, contemplating this obsession with asking me how I feel.

"Fine," I answered after a beat. I noticed Kim eyeing me with a distressed look on her face, but she looked away quickly when I caught her eye.

"Great!" Like Embry before him, Quil jumped to his feet, making me shudder. He looked around as the bell rang overhead. "Jake not here yet? How weird. I aught to give him a call and make sure he's all right. You remember where the classroom is, right?"

"Yes," I replied, but he was already gone.

"Idiot," Kim muttered. Jared laughed and started pulling her in the direction of their first class. "I'll see you in a bit, Kora!" I nodded and melted into the crowd of students marching into the building. Once inside, I followed my vague memory of the hallways until I found my first class. Quil, somehow, had beaten me there. _So fast._ For a moment, I saw an entirely different room in front of me, stained red. I blinked, and it was just a normal classroom again. Quil was smiling brightly at me from the back of the room. I made my way to my seat, trying to ignore the stares.

"How is he?" I inquired, surprised by my own concern.

"How is who?" Quil asked.

I stared at him for a second. "Um, Jacob?"

Quil's eyes widened. "Ohhhh, yeah!" He smirked. "He's all right, now."

"Is he sick?"

"Naw, just tired."

"Oh." I leant down to fish through my backpack, looking for one of the two random notebooks Mom had gotten me before the school year started. I would need a couple more for other classes, but I had enough for today. My fingers brushed a smooth, leather surface and I froze. I'd forgotten that the journal was in there. Swallowing, I grabbed the first notebook my hand came into contact with and pulled my arm out of my bag. As I uncapped my pen, I realized my hands were trembling. I quickly dropped my pen and hid them in my lap before Quil could notice. He was already weirdly obsessed with my well being. I didn't need to give him an actual reason to be. I took a couple of deep breaths, in my nose, out my mouth, until I had calmed down. I wasn't sure why I reacted that way, but the thought of all my secrets sitting right there at my feet where anyone could find them made me panic. I had to remind myself that there was no reason for anyone to go into my backpack anyway. No one would touch the journal, and after school I would stash it away in the back of the closet where I'd never have to see it again or worry about someone else seeing it.

I let out my breath in a quiet _whoosh_ and flipped my notebook open, neatly writing the date on the top of the page. Mr. Brock quickly passed out textbooks to us, each one already labeled with the students' name on the inside cover. Mine, being last minute, was hand written, while everyone else had a computerized sticker. I stuffed it into my bag without a second glance. Having finished distributing the books, he launched immediately into a run-down of what we would be covering that year. I jotted down a few notes on what he was saying just to keep myself occupied. Quil was watching me with an amused look on his face while I took my pointless notes. I ignored him to the best of my ability.

"You _do_ know there isn't going to be a quiz on that stuff, right?" he asked later, while we were getting ready to leave. I shrugged, placing my backpack on my desk and slipping my notebook inside. He laughed. "You're one interesting character."

"Thank you?" I replied.

"Anytime." Quil grinned as the bell rang and we headed to the door. He disappeared as soon as we'd shuffled out into the hallway, leaving me with an enthusiastic, "See ya later!"

Kim grinned at me when I walked into my next class. I waved timidly and made my way to my seat. Jacob wasn't there, which I was kind of glad about. I didn't know how to handle his presence after the day before. Did that phone call put us on speaking terms? Would he want to talk to me more often? I hoped he wouldn't expect me to talk as freely as I had on the phone. That was a one time deal.

"Have a good first period?" Kim asked as I sat down.

"It was okay," I answered with my usual accompanying shrug.

She was turned around in her seat to face me with one arm resting on Jacob's desk. She drummed her fingers on it for a moment. "So…Jake's still not here."

I looked up from her hand. "I noticed."

Kim smiled. "Good."

Cocking my head to the side, I was about to ask her what she meant by that when Miss Prowley appeared and demanded our attention. She grabbed a stack of small books from a shelf and tossed a couple on the desk of each student in the front row so they could pass them back. I studied the cover of mine, reading the title to myself. It was a collection of poems.

"Turn to page 46," Miss Prowley advised. We all followed suit. "Emily Dickinson. What do you know about her?" She gazed around the room. After a moment, someone's hand raised. I saw that it was the attractive-but-arrogant boy I'd noticed the day before. "Keith?"

"She was some kind of freak that hid away from people and stuff," Keith said. Wow, somebody give that kid the Nobel Prize.

Miss Prowley wasn't annoyed, but neither was she amused. "Yes, Miss Dickinson was a recluse for most of her life. It was during the time that she was, as you said, "hiding away from people and stuff," that she wrote a majority of her poetry. Now…" Her eyes moved over the room again. I tried to avoid her gaze by staring down at the book, where the words ran together in front of my eyes. "Kora," she said, rendering my efforts useless, "why don't you read this aloud for us?"

"Um, okay," I said softly. I blinked several times until the black print formed separate words rather than one long one. Quietly, I started to read.

"Kora, please, speak up a little. Not everyone in this class has my superhuman hearing." She paused. "That was unkind, Michelle." A girl on the right side of the room jumped and stared, her face darkening. Miss Prowley looked back at me. "Continue, a little louder this time."

Chewing my lip, I looked down at the page again and forced myself to read the words more loudly. "_Pain has an element of blank; it cannot recollect when it began, or if there were a day when it was not_." I paused, swallowing hard and trying not to think about what I was reading. I continued more quickly, wanting to get it over with before my brain could process the meaning. "_It has no future but itself, its infinite realms contain its past, enlightened to perceive new periods of pain_."

"Thank you," Miss Prowley said. I didn't look up, but instead continued to stare down at the page while she launched into a lesson on what the poem meant. Everything that was said was completely lost on me. Though I struggled not to, I found myself reading the poem again and again. My mind went off on a tangent of its own, subconsciously working out the meaning behind the words. I chewed on my lip, feeling a sudden throbbing in a certain corner of my chest. I shrank down in my seat, my mind still working on overdrive. It took me a long time, but I somehow managed to force my eyes away from the deceptively neat, typed page that greatly contrasted the meaning of the words it held. My ears tuned back into the conversation as the girl called Michelle offered an answer.

"Clearly, it's talking about pain as it's own entity," she was saying. "By personifying the emotion, Dickinson is setting it apart from people, making it less personal." For someone who sounded so smart, she was pretty stupid.

I couldn't help but scoff. My brain had spent most of the period going over and over the words, and not once had I thought of anything like what Michelle had just said. "That has nothing to do with it," I stated. Miss Prowley, who had opened her mouth to reply, abruptly closed it and turned to look at me along with the rest of the class. However, unlike the rest of the class, Miss Prowley was smiling.

"What do you mean, Kora?" she asked, sounding like she knew exactly what I meant, but wanted me to say it out loud.

"Yes, _Kora_, enlighten us," Michelle added sarcastically.

I inwardly groaned. Me and my big mouth. "Well, um," I forced myself to start, "She's not trying to disconnect people from pain. She's just defining it." I was painfully aware of the many pairs of eyes focused on me. "She's saying that when someone's in pain it's almost impossible to remember what it's like to not feel it. It's like you can only remember pain because to you that's all there ever was." The words came out fast; before I could even recognize what I was going to say the words were out in the open. "You don't know when it started or if there was a time when you didn't feel it because it's like that's all there ever was. There was only pain. So you see pain behind you and pain in front of you and that's it. There's just the pain before, the pain now, and whatever pain there is ahead. That's it. You're just going to hurt." My voice caught in my throat and I practically whispered, "Forever."

Miss Prowley looked incredibly pleased. "Very good, Kora," she said. "That's exactly right." Michelle scowled, clearly unhappy that she wasn't the one being praised. I just shrugged and avoided everyone's gaze, especially Kim's, which was full of concerned curiosity. "Well, the bell is about to ring. I would like you to read the poem on the next page tonight and be prepared to discuss it tomorrow." I moved fast, throwing the book into my backpack and practically running out of the room when the bell rang. I was forced to slow down in the hallway when it became crowded. Someone shoved past me roughly. I looked up involuntarily in time to see Michelle glance back to glare at me through the glasses on the end of her nose.

"Showoff," she muttered, loud enough for me to hear, as she turned back around. I took several deep breaths to keep myself calm. This was to be expected. I knew I wasn't going to be very well liked in this school. I'd planned to just sit quietly and not give anyone any reason to dislike me more, but apparently I couldn't even do that right.

"You're pretty smart, huh?" someone said into my ear. I jumped, and they laughed. "Hey, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." I turned my head. Keith was smiling at me with his perfect teeth. His weird blue eyes studied my face. "That was pretty cool back there, the stuff you said. I had no idea what that crap meant. I suck at poems." He laughed again. "And you sure put Michelle in her place."

I forced myself to look away from his pretty eyes and shrugged. "I didn't mean to. I was just explaining the poem."

I saw Keith's grin widen in the corner of my eye. "Right. Mind if I walk you to class?"

Yes. Everyone's staring and wondering why you're talking to me. Girls are watching me like they want to claw my eyes out. I don't like it. Go away. "If you want."

"Cool." Keith winked and slung an arm over my shoulder. I resisted the urge to shudder and recoil. I didn't like being touched. "Because I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?" I tried to make myself sound interested but I don't think it worked. Not that it bothered Keith any.

"Yeah. You see, I'm having a little get together this weekend with some friends. My 'rents are out of town, y'know?" I looked at him but didn't say anything. "So I wanted to know if you'll be there."

"I didn't know I was invited."

"Well, consider this your invitation. Will you come?"

I looked away. "No, thank you." I used to love parties, but now the idea made me want to crawl into bed and hide. Then again, I always wanted to crawl into bed and hide.

Keith's face fell. "Why not? Tim's your cousin, right? You can get a ride with him." We stopped at the door to my next class.

"I don't think Tim would want me to come."

"Well, it's not Tim's party, is it?" He squeezed my shoulder. "Come on, at least say you'll think about it."

No. "Okay," I said quickly, giving him what he wanted.

Keith grinned. "Awesome." We were suddenly shoved apart and a new arm was slung around my neck. I blinked at the large hand hanging off my right shoulder, trying to figure out what just happened. I looked up. It was Embry. I wondered vaguely if he had a fever or something, because his arm was really hot around my shoulders.

"Hey, there, Kora," he said, but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were on Keith, who looked pissed. "We'd better get inside before the bell rings!"

"Okay," I said to him, then to Keith, "Bye."

Keith smiled at me, but it seemed a little forced. "Later, Kora. See you this weekend." He walked away before I could correct his assumption, and Embry steered me into our English class.

He frowned at me as we sat down next to each other. He hadn't been in that seat the day before. "What's this weekend?" he asked.

"A party," I answered simply.

"And you're going?"

"I hope not."

Embry smiled. "Really."

"Don't like parties." I shrugged.

"Hey, that's my seat," a girl whined, standing next to Embry.

He scowled at her. "I don't think so." She retreated quickly and found a different place to sit. The rest of the class consisted of textbooks being passed out and Embry chatting idly to me about all the fun things that he used to do with Jacob. I listened politely while silently wondering why he was telling me anyway. The period dragged, but it was nothing compared to Bio II, which I thought was never going to end. Kim was in that class, and apparently she unashamedly abandoned her lab partner to be mine. She looked at me with those same curiously concerned eyes she'd worn during creative writing, and "casually" brought up my response to the poem. I tried to shrug it off, but she never let up with that look.

I was overly thankful when the bell rang for lunch. Kim walked with me and I continued to avoid her gaze. Everyone sat in the same seats at the table, and for some reason I was still vaguely surprised to see Jacob's empty seat. His voice suddenly popped into my head from the night before.

_See you in school tomorrow?_

Apparently not. Oh well. I ate my bagel in silence while everyone talked excitedly around me, my eyes straying to the conspicuously empty space every now and then. It was kind of a relief to be ignored. I didn't have to pretend to be interested in what they had to say.

"…said Jake didn't get in until three." My attention was caught when Quil mentioned Jacob. I don't know why.

"Jake's an idiot," Paul snorted. "His shift ended at one."

"It's important to him, Paul," Quil defended his friend. "You don't understand."

"Yeah, and I'm glad, too." Paul made a face. He glanced at me, and looked again quickly when he realized I was suddenly paying attention.

"Do you all work nights or something?" I asked. That would explain why they were always so tired.

"Uh, yeah," Paul replied awkwardly.

"Jake sort of took an extra shift last night," Quil added.

"Oh," I said. "Why?" Better question: Why do I care?

Embry coughed loudly into his fist. "He uh, needed to take care of something important," he said. Jared cleared his throat and Embry glanced at him, then changed the subject. "So Kora was invited to a party this weekend." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Really?" Kim asked. "You didn't tell me that."

"Didn't seem important," I said.

"What are you talking about? A party invite on your second day? That's great!"

"Maybe, but I'm not going."

"Why!?"

"_Reuben_'s throwing it," Embry said, making a face.

Kim gave me a wide-eyed look. "_Keith Reuben_ invited you to a party?"

"I guess," I mumbled.

"You know how many girls would _kill_ to go to one of his parties?"

"No, but I know one that wouldn't."

Quil chuckled. "You're not gonna go then?" he asked.

"If I can help it," I replied. The bell was so loud I flinched. I looked down at my bagel, which I'd only eaten half of.

"Um, are you gonna-" Quil began.

I shoved it towards him before he could finish his sentence. "Take it."

He grinned at me through a large, doughy bite as we stood up from the table. "That's it. She feeds me. We're keeping her."

**Sorry there wasn't any Jacob in this chapter. I promise the next one will start out with him! I love you all. Leave reviews if you care to. :)**

**-Gina!**


	5. Fine, Just Fine

**All righty, sorry about the delay. I started this chapter and then got a little distracted by **_**Breaking Dawn**_**. I spent most of yesterday and today reading it. I finished, and now I'm sad. Luckily, I had my Jacob story to turn to! After reading **_**Breaking Dawn**_**, I just love him even more. Obviously, this story's timeline overlaps with that of BD, so it's kind of like an alternate ending or whatever. I'm considering how much of BD I'm going to apply to this story. Don't worry, I'll post spoiler warnings at the start of any chapter that has them!**

**Anyways, on with the show! (And, P.S. Thanks for the reviews! I love you all!)**

Chapter Five: Fine, Just Fine

**Jacob**

This imprinting stuff was turning out to be incredibly irritating. After running normal watch until one, I caught Kora's scent and wound up skulking around in the woods behind her house for two extra hours. I couldn't help it. She lived so close to the places where we'd scented the bloodsuckers we kept chasing off every few days. I didn't want to leave her unprotected for a second, and I probably wouldn't have left until dawn if Sam hadn't ordered it.

Like I said, irritating. I don't get enough sleep as it is, and then this new need to keep Kora safe had me out even later than usual. I had no idea how Sam, Jared, and Quil dealt with it. _Give it time, _Sam had responded to my aggravated musings. _The imprint is still fresh._ Of course they all knew already. Damn mind link.

_So, what? _was my reply. _Will it get easier to be away from her or something? _

_No, _Quil answered, _but it gets easier to resist stalking her. _

_Stalking! _I scoffed.

_What else would you like me to call it? You're hiding in her bushes, watching her house._

_Shut up, Quil, _I growled.

_You also called her house three times._

_Where are you? I am going to claw your eyes out. _

_Quil, _Sam's voice firmly interjected. _Stop provoking him. Jacob. _

I grumbled. _What?_

_Go home. Now. _

_Huh? No! What if-_

_Jacob, I am running by there in ten minutes. If you are still there when I do, I'll give Quil free reign to say whatever he wants to you. _

_Fine. _

So I went home, even though every muscle in my body wanted to stay and my chest burned with a fierce desire to protect. I could hardly stand it. Once again, completely aggravating.

After arriving home at three in the morning and lying awake for another hour worrying, all I wanted to do was sleep all day. But I had to see Kora. I _had_ to. Unfortunately, I was forced back into bed by not only Embry and Quil but also my own dad. I wouldn't stay put until they promised to call and let me know how she was. It seemed like hours before they called, and it was all I could do to keep myself from lifting the receiver to my ear every five seconds to make sure it was connected.

"She said she's feeling better than yesterday," Embry said.

"But how does she _look_? She wouldn't tell you if she wasn't feeling better."

"I don't know, Jake, she looks okay to me. Get some sleep already." _Click._ He hung up on me.

Then Quil called. "She's fine."

"Fine? Are you sure? Does she _look_ fine, because you know she-"

"She's _fine_. We won't let anything happen to her. The Babysitter's Club is on the job, so shut up and get some sleep." _Click_. Cool. My anxiety eased slightly, I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but when I woke up at 12:30 I put my foot down. I was going to school, despite Dad's protests. So what if it would count as an absence anyway? I wasn't interested in the academic aspect. Lunch was just ending and if I hurried I would make it in time for gym, and I'd get to see Kora.

Kora, who reminded me so much of Bella that it hurt. I thought about that while hurtling along the dirt road towards the school in my Rabbit. It was pretty masochistic of me, rushing to see someone when the look on her face made my heart throb. It didn't make sense. Logically, I aught to be avoiding her. She scared me, and hurt me both with her similarities to the girl I loved and the simple fact that she was so obviously in just as much pain as I was. It cast a whole new light on her speech yesterday afternoon, the realization that she wasn't okay. I could see it in her eyes. It was cliché, but true. I could practically smell it on her, the bittersweet tang of pain.

It was all too familiar a scent.

Mrs. Smith was surprised to see me when I strolled into the office to sign in. I ignored her, scribbling my name on the list and waiting for her to write me a pass.

"Jacob, you do know it's too late to avoid an absence, right?" she asked as she jotted down the date and time and scrawled her signature at the bottom of the little green slip.

"Yeah, I know," I replied.

She looked at me and handed me the pass. "All right. Hurry up and get to class."

"Sure, sure."

They'd already gone outside when I got to the locker room. I changed quickly into the cloth shorts and T-shirt in my locker and practically ran outside. My body was entirely too tense. I squinted at the kids on the field as I approached, trying to catch a glimpse of Kora to dispel my anxiety. I picked out Embry and Paul easily enough, running around the field and willingly accepting almost every pass from their teammates. They tackled each other, and I could hear Miss B yelling at them as I got closer.

"I said _touch_ football! _Touch!_" she screamed, followed by a few short blasts on her whistle to make them stop. I paused at the edge of the field next to her. "Jacob?" She sounded surprised. I just handed her my pass while still scanning the field for Kora. Where _was_ she?

Then I saw her. She wasn't chasing the ball up and down the field like the rest of the class, so I hadn't noticed her standing by herself before. I noted the faraway look on her face, the way she wrapped her arms around herself, just like Bella, to try and hold the pieces together. I instinctively started towards her. She didn't notice me. In fact, it didn't look like she was actually _seeing _anything in front of her at all. Her face was paler than usual.

"Kora?" I called experimentally as I got closer. She didn't answer or even look my way. She was totally spaced out. My stomach did an uncomfortable twist. Something was wrong. I quickened my pace and noticed out of the corner of my eye Paul backpedaling to catch a pass, his back to her and his eyes on the football flying through the air overhead. He was heading straight for her. "Shit," I murmured, then yelled, "Kora, watch it!" She blinked suddenly and looked at me, her guard temporarily down so I could see whatever she was feeling on her face. The problem was she was looking at _me_ when she should have been looking at _Paul _so she could get out of the damn way. A low growl rumbled in my chest and I took off in a sprint, grabbing her and doing a kind of spin to get her out of the way while swinging her safely into my arms at the same time. "You idiot!" I snarled at Paul, who skidded to a stop and stared at me, the football bouncing off of his forehead. He didn't even flinch. "You almost trampled her!" He blinked, confused by my glare, then looked at the girl in my arms and realized what had happened.

"Man, I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" he said. When Kora didn't answer, I looked down at her. She was staring at me with wide eyes, but the rest of her face was carefully blank. Again.

"How…" she said softly.

"Black, I understand that it's very exciting to show off your strength and have a girl that close to your body at the same time, but please put her down so we can continue," Miss B yelled. Looking up, I saw that the entire class was staring at me, including Keith Reuben, who didn't look happy. I hate that kid.

I carefully placed Kora's feet back on the ground and stepped back. Paul came closer. "I'm sorry," he said again, this time to me.

"It's okay," Kora said, softly, thinking he was talking to her. Of course she would think that. Why would Paul apologize to me? She didn't know about the legitimate fear that pierced me when I imagined Paul crashing into her fragile body. She would've been snapped in two. "Um, thanks, Jacob." I blinked, focusing back on her when she said my name. Her cheeks flushed when I met her eyes. I was unwillingly pleased by that reaction. I really liked the way the pink looked over her peach skin. I had a sudden urge to reach out and touch her cheek, just a quick brush with my fingertips. I clenched my fists and looked away as I realized I was staring.

"Yeah, well, it was nothing," I muttered. "Just pay more attention next time. I can't always be around to save you." Not that I could keep myself from trying. I shuddered.

"Okay." Kora's voice sounded small and far away. I turned and didn't see her for a second, then looked down to find her sitting with her head between her knees.

"Kora? Oh, God, are you okay?" I knelt down next to her.

"Yes," she mumbled.

"I don't believe you. You don't feel well, do you? Is it because of what just happened?" Ugh, I was going to kill Paul for freaking her out.

"No. And I'm fine."

"You're _not _fine." I grabbed her arm and stood up, pulling her to her feet. She swayed a bit and grabbed onto me. I gave her an "I knew it" look. "I'm taking you to the nurse."

"I don't need the nurse," she said stubbornly. Her colorless face said otherwise.

"Bull. Come on. At least sit on the side."

"I guess that would be okay." I started to lead her off the field, but she stumbled and I had to catch her.

"Okay, I'm definitely taking you to the nurse," I said firmly, easily sweeping my left arm under her knees and lifting her into the air.

"I'm fine, really."

"You're still saying that?"

"Where are you going?" Miss B asked as I walked by.

"I'm taking her to the nurse," I replied. "She can hardly walk."

"I'm fine," Kora denied weakly.

"You keep saying that. I think I believe you less and less every time you do."

Miss B took one look at her and said, "Take her." Like I cared if I had her permission. I inwardly snorted as I kept walking. I kept glancing at Kora. Her eyebrows drew together and her eyes got that faraway look to them again.

"Maybe…you're right…" she mumbled, then her eyelids fluttered and closed, her brow relaxing.

"Kora?" I called anxiously. She didn't answer. "Kora?" She was silent and limp in my arms. "Aw, hell, what'd you have to go and pass out for?" I jogged through the gym and down the hall to the conveniently located nurse's office. Smart architect, putting the medical center right near the gym. "Mrs. Quinn!" I shouted as I walked in.

"I'm right here, Jacob, no need to yell!" the older woman said from her desk. I ignored her and walked right over to the paper-covered cot to carefully place Kora on top of it. "What's this?" Mrs. Quinn was suddenly next to me.

"She wasn't feeling well and she passed out on our way here," I explained, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "Is she okay? What's wrong? When will she wake up?"

"Mr. Black!" the nurse said loudly. "If you want me to check on her you will have to move first!"

"Oh." I stepped back and Mrs. Quinn took my place, starting with the usual checks of heart rate, blood pressure, etcetera. I hovered behind her anxiously. Every second Kora's eyes stayed closed felt like an hour. My heart was gripped with worry and my head kept running through all the terrible things that could be wrong with her. As always, I became irritated pretty fast with the way it terrified me to see her unconscious.

Mrs. Quinn stepped back, taking the stethoscope buds out of her ears. "Well, her vitals checked out. She seems to be perfectly fine."

_Fine_. I was so sick of that word. What did it mean, anyway? It was like saying food was "tasty." The word was entirely neutral, except in Kora's case. For her, "fine" really meant "Terrible, but I don't want to talk about it." I knew, because it meant the same thing for me.

I sighed and sat down in the chair at the head of the cot. "So, what? Is there anything you can do?"

"No. We'll just have to wait until she wakes up on her own." Mrs. Quinn walked over to her desk and grabbed a clipboard. "In the meantime, I'll need your girlfriend's name and grade-"

"She's not my girlfriend!" I corrected quickly, though the wolf in me liked that idea. It liked that idea very much. Several pictures passed through my mind that I should not have been thinking about. _Bad Jacob._ I mentally scolded myself.

Mrs. Quinn looked surprised. "I'm sorry, I just assumed from the way you worried…"

I set my jaw and ignored her insinuations. "Her name is Kora. K-O-R-A." I spelled it out. "Wolfe, W-O-L-F-E." The irony of her name was not lost on me. "She's a junior." The nurse nodded and scribbled the information down and sat at her desk.

"You can go back to class," she said. "I can handle watching her."

"No!" I refused a little too loudly. "I mean, that's okay. I'll wait." I didn't want to let her out of my sight.

"You really should return to class, Mr. Black." Mrs. Quinn's tone was reprimanding.

"I really should stay here," I replied. "When she wakes up she won't know where she is. At least she'll know me." Even though I am thoroughly incapable of being nice to her, despite my insatiable desire to be next to her every moment of every day.

Mrs. Quinn sighed. "All right…"

I sat back, satisfied, and settled in to wait. Watching her face, even upside down, I was reminded of her expression when she'd first snapped out of that weird trance on the field. My stomach lurched as I remembered, her features swimming in my mind's eye.

The mirror image of my own emotions painted on another's face. All that pain. I hated that she was hurting so bad. I hated whoever did this to her. I wondered why she was so depressed. It must take a lot to make a person completely shut down like that. I was in pain, yeah. It hurt just to breathe, but I got by somehow. I didn't have the wall up that she did. There're a lot of ways to grieve, I guess. I chose anger, and Kora chose…well, apathy. I was vaguely aware of the bells ringing, first the one to end sixth period, then the one to pronounce any stragglers late. I hardly paid attention.

God, it was just like Bella. Kora tried so hard to hide it, putting on her brave face, choosing to feel nothing rather than everything. But every once in a while there was a crack in the façade, and I could see the mess underneath. I wanted, so badly, to help.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I bodily jumped to my feet when Kora suddenly sat bolt upright and screamed, "No!" Mrs. Quinn started, one hand moving to her chest as she turned to stare at her with startled eyes. Kora's dark hair flew wildly around her head as she looked around, trying to figure out where she was. I tentatively touched her shoulder and she jumped a good foot down the cot away from me, her frightened expression disappearing when her eyes landed on my familiar face.

"Sorry," I said. "You passed out a couple of minutes ago."

Kora looked around again. "The nurse's office," she stated.

"Yeah."

Mrs. Quinn stood up and walked over, introducing herself as she approached, to check Kora's vital signs again. "Well," the nurse said a few minutes later, "there's a slight increase in heart rate, but that's all. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," Kora replied meekly.

"Do you know why you fainted?"

She paused, a moment too long, before answering, "No." Mrs. Quinn made a thoughtful noise.

"Maybe I should take her home," I offered seriously. They both looked at me with varying levels of incredulity. I continued in a significantly less certain voice. "You know, just in case."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Mrs. Quinn said.

"But, what if she passes out again? She needs to rest."

"It was most likely just a response to stress, her mind's way of protecting her momentarily. She'll be fine until the end of the day."

"She should go home and lay down."

"_She_," Kora said loudly to gain our attention, "is right here." Her expression changed from annoyed to surprised to blank in just a few seconds. "And I'm okay."

"That's what you said outside right before you almost fell on your face," I argued.

She stood up, fixing me with a stare. "That was different. I'm fine, just fine."

"Yeah, _now_. Who knows how you'll feel in a few minutes…or an hour! You should be in bed where you can't fall down and bash your skull or something."

"Who died and made _you_ my keeper?" A brief silence followed in which Kora's face became momentarily contorted with pain before she sat down abruptly and hid her expression behind her hair. I fought the instinct to hold her, somewhat guilty and disgusted by the urge. She rested her head in her hands and shook her head. "I want to go home." I blinked, surprised by her sudden change of mind. "I want to go home right now." Her voice cracked on the word "home." I wondered if she was thinking of a place other than her grandmother's house.

Mrs. Quinn was even more bewildered than I was. "Well, all right. I suppose…if you're not feeling well. I'll call your parents so someone can come and get you."

"I'll take her," I said firmly.

"Mr. Black," Mrs. Quinn replied disapprovingly, "you have classes to attend."

"I will take her," I repeated through my teeth. I hated to admit it, but I didn't want to take my eyes off of her for a second.

Mrs. Quinn must have seen something in my expression to make her change her tune. With pursed lips, she went to her desk to grab a pad of passes. "All right. I'll give you a pass to leave long enough to take her home, but you better come straight back, Jacob. I'll write you a pass to return at 1:30. That way you can still go to your last class."

"Whatever." I wasn't really listening. I was more concerned with Kora, who was still cradling her head in her hands. The nurse walked over and handed me the three passes.

"Go and change first, then take her straight home. No detours. There and back. You understand me?"

"Sure, sure." I waved her off and moved to help Kora up, but she jumped to her feet before I could touch her.

"I can walk," she said, recoiling from my hand when I automatically reached out to steady her. I studied her expression. It was different- stony and cold rather than blank.

"Okay."

We walked back to the gym in silence. I watched Kora disappear into the girl's locker room before going to change myself. The seventh period classes had already gone outside, so I was alone. I took advantage of my solitude and changed more quickly than a normal human. With my backpack slung over one shoulder, I darted back out into the hallway where I started pacing until Kora emerged, her face carefully blank. I let out a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding, only to have it catch in my throat when my eyes raked over her figure.

She was wearing another sweater, black this time so it made her look paler. Her jeans were just clinging to her hipbones. I could see a sliver of pale stomach between the top of her pants and the hem of her shirt. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to understand that she wasn't taking very good care of herself. She was too skinny. Tearing my eyes away, I motioned for her to follow me. She shuffled along behind me without complaint, wordlessly climbed into the passenger seat of my Rabbit, and was silent as I pulled out of the school's parking lot and headed towards her house. My eyes kept sliding over to look at her as we drove. She had her eyes trained out the window, her head angled away from me. I anxiously tried to concentrate on the road, but it was a wasted effort.

"How did you do it?" Kora's voice broke the silence finally.

"Do what?" I asked warily. She turned her head to look at me suddenly.

"Get me out of Paul's way."

I took a deep breath. I'd been afraid she might ask something like that. "Easy. You're not that heavy." I tried to dodge her real question.

"That's not what I meant." Her sharp tone made me glance at her again. I was surprised by the way she shook off her apathy so easily, abandoning her best defense. Her eyes, strangely, were accusing. "How did you move so fast?" I gritted my teeth. "I saw you. You were at least ten feet away and Paul was inches from me when you grabbed me."

I tried to shrug it off. "I'm just fast, I guess."

"No one is that fast." Kora's voice suggested a hidden meaning to her words. In my mind, I heard her voice, clear as day, saying the same thing with one extra word. _No one _human_ is that fast. _But that was impossible. She didn't know anything, and even though the normal rules didn't apply in the case of an imprint, I still wouldn't tell her. Though I wanted to believe it was for the good of the pack, the real reason was that every time I imagined letting her in on our secret all I could see was her running away, screaming.

"You probably overestimated how far away I was. You were totally out of it."

"I wasn't _that_ out of it," she snapped. I slowed down significantly and turned to stare at her. The accusation was openly visible on her face. But what, exactly, was she accusing me of?

"You don't know how out of it you were," I replied sharply.

"I wasn't out of it at all when I saw you." The gray of her irises seemed to roll like clouds during a storm.

"You must've been."

I saw, only for a moment, the flicker of doubt on her face. "But I saw you," she insisted.

"I was closer than you think," I lied. Truthfully, I was probably farther than she'd guessed. Kora didn't seem as sure as she had moments before. I made the mistake of relaxing minimally. "Besides, what does it matter if I'm fast?"

Her face hardened again. "It matters." Damn. I hit the gas again and looked forward, avoiding her gaze. We were almost to her house. "Then again, you're probably right." I risked a glance her way. Her face was blank again, staring through the windshield. "It was just my imagination." That was…weird. She'd dropped it so easily. I couldn't help but be a little suspicious. I pulled into her grandmother's driveway and stopped. She opened the door.

"Do you want me to come in for a second? Make sure you're okay?" I softened my voice a little. Kora looked back at me, her mask cracking for a moment to show her curiosity about my concern.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. There was that word again. Her empty expression matched it well. _Fine, just fine._ I fought the urge to argue. I wanted to be sure she was okay before I left. One glance at the clock told me it would be better if I left. Now, or never. I wouldn't be able to leave her if I followed her inside. Kora stepped out of the car and closed the door, leaning down a little to look at me through the window. I tried to arrange my face with the acceptable amount of worry for an acquaintance. If she noticed my anxiety, she didn't show it. "Thank you, Jacob. I appreciate your concern." So formal. I inwardly flinched. _Call me Jake!_ I wanted to scream at her. _Let me take care of you!_

But I didn't say either of these things. Instead, I watched as she walked into the little blue house without giving me a second glance. When I couldn't see her anymore, I put the Rabbit in gear and forced myself to drive away.

**My new catch phrase: Hit the sack with Jacob Black. **

**It will be my answer to EVERY question. **

"**What time is it?"**

"**Hit the sack with Jacob Black. ;)"**

**-Gina**


	6. Truth

**Okay, as usual, I gotta thank you all for the reviews! They make me very happy. This chapter is a lot longer than usual, so I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter Six: Truth

**Kora**

He was one of them. He had to be. How else could he have moved so unbelievably fast? And then he tried to avoid the question and acted all sketchy about it. So what if he didn't look anything like the creature haunting my dreams? That was the only one I ever saw, that lovely, evil, deadly fast woman. And Jacob Black was deadly fast.

He was also beautiful.

I bit my tongue as if I'd spoken the words out loud. There was no room for thoughts like that in my mind. I had to focus on the facts, which was why I picked up an extra spiral-bound notebook while shopping for the rest of the school supplies I needed. After Jacob had dropped me off, I found a note from my mom asking me to go get a refill of her sleep aid medication when I got home from school. I'd grabbed the little empty prescription bottle and taken Tim's old bike over to the La Push drug store without even putting my Jansport down. Since I was at the store anyway, I figured I might as well pick up the other stuff I needed while Aunt Talia filled Mom's prescription.

Aunt Talia was the only pharmacist in La Push, and therefore knew what was wrong with everyone. That sucked for everyone on the reservation because she had a habit of worrying out loud at the dinner table. Lately, she'd taken to fussing about a woman named Sue Clearwater, who was on a couple different medications including antidepressants and the same sleep meds as my mother.

"Excuse me?" a man's voice broke through my clouded thoughts. Looking to my right and down a little, my eyes fell on an older man. He wasn't particularly remarkable. His face was kind but crinkled, giving his skin the look of rough folded leather. He had his long black hair tied back with a rubber band. What really caught my attention was the fact that he was sitting in a wheelchair. I had to force myself to look away from his big hands resting on the wheels and into his dark, unbothered eyes. "Do you mind handing me a pack of those pens there?" He pointed. "Unfortunately, I can't quite reach." He chuckled.

"Um, sure," I said, grabbing the pens he requested and handing them to him. He dropped them into his lap along with several notebooks and other office paraphernalia.

"Perhaps one more pack? My son has a tendency to break his pens. Doesn't know his own strength, really." The man laughed again, and I gave him another package. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," I replied, turning to grab some pens for myself. I needed pencils too, for the choir class I didn't even want to take. Singing was something my father and I did together, since I got my voice from his side of the family. Since his death, I hadn't sung a note. I grabbed the cheapest pencils they had, and turned to head back to the pharmacy counter. I stopped short, realizing that the man in the wheelchair was still there, just staring at me with this curious look on his face. When I caught him, he had the grace to look away, embarrassed.

"I apologize for staring," he said, "I just can't help but notice that I haven't seen you around here before."

"Oh, yeah, I'm new," I answered.

He nodded. "I thought so." His weathered face broke into a smile. "Well, welcome to La Push, Miss…"

"Kora," I supplied, accepting his hand and shaking it. His eyebrows shot up.

"Kora, eh? It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Billy."

Finally? "Uh, right. You too. I need to, um, pay and stuff."

"All right. You go do that. Shall I tell Jake you say hello?"

I froze. "Jake?"

Billy frowned. "Well, yes. Jacob. My son." Oh. OH!

"Um, that's not necessary."

"Don't be silly. I'll have to tell him I met you, though he'll probably think I embarrassed him somehow…" Billy laughed. "But wait, shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"Why are you here?"

_Well, you see, your son wouldn't let me stay at school, spurring an argument in which I said something terrible that made me _feel_ terrible so I just agreed to leave before I had a chance to burst into hysterical tears._ "I'm sick."

"Oh." He studied me for a moment. "You seem okay."

"Just a cold."

"Ah."

"Koraline!" Aunt Talia called from the pharmacy. "Your prescription's ready. Where are you?"

"That's me. I really need to go." I waved and didn't wait for a response before scooting around Billy's wheelchair and high-tailing it to the back of the store where Talia waited behind the pharmacy counter. I dumped my supplies on the surface so she could ring them up with the prescription. I paid quickly, told her I'd see her at home, and left. I'd already explained what I was doing out of school to her when I requested the refill.

I shoved everything into my backpack as I made my way to the front of the story, avoiding the school supply aisle. Apparently it was pointless, though, because Billy was at the check out counter. He watched me leave. I pretended not to notice him. I kicked the stand out from under Tim's bike and straddled it, taking off down the road faster than I really needed to. When I got back to the house, I ran inside without bothering to put the bike back in the shed. I just left it on the lawn and dashed up the steps and through the door. I wasn't able to really relax until I'd sat down on the couch and taken a few deep breaths. I don't know why I was freaking out. Billy seemed nice enough, and I couldn't imagine him as dangerous in that wheelchair.

But still, Billy Black. Jacob's father. I thought about how huge his son was. It was hard to believe they were family. A terrible thought occurred to me. What if Jacob was the reason Billy couldn't walk? I shuddered. Then again, he seemed so nice, if a little weirdly overbearing. But the way his father had spoken to me, even the way he asked who I was, made it seem like he knew more about me than he was letting on. How much could they possibly know?

In a sudden panic, I tore through my backpack until I was clutching the little leather journal in my hands. I sighed and hugged it to my chest. There was no way they could know about me, about what I could do. I stroked the soft, worn cover before setting it carefully on the coffee table. All my secrets were sitting right there, safe and sound.

But maybe they didn't need the journal to know about me. If Jacob was like the woman who killed my dad, he might already know everything. I pulled out the extra notebook I'd bought and a pen, flipping to the first page and starting to make a list. Since I was little, I had a habit of making lists for everything. I was never the most organized person, and it helped to keep my thoughts in order. I chewed on the inside of my cheek and thought back to the night I hated to remember, trying to concentrate on the creature and ignore the blood…the body… I took a deep breath, and started writing down what I could remember about her.

_-Fast_

_-Strong_

_-Pale, red eyes_

_-Beautiful_

I stopped, moved my pen to the side to start a separate list.

Jacob Black?

_-Fast_

_-Strong_

_-Dark tawny skin, dark eyes_

I paused, the pen poised over the next line. It wasn't that I was stuck. I knew exactly what I wanted to write next. The words had come to me naturally, I mean, lists were my thing and I was good at making them. I always knew exactly what fit. The problem was, I wasn't sure how wise it was to write what had appeared in my mind. It made sense, certainly. _Dark tawny skin, dark eyes, heartbreakingly beautiful. _It fit the list perfectly, even matched the first one somewhat. But seeing it on paper in black and white would make the thought real and that was dangerous in so many different ways. I decided to compromise.

_-Dangerously good-looking_

That was okay, not as disturbing as what I really thought, and it still fit. I mean, I could think of plenty of _girls_ I'd seen who I'd classify as dangerously good-looking. It was more generic, less personal, and a lot easier to deal with.

I stared down at the list for a while, trying to think of what else might be useful to add. My brain settled on the memory of being in his arms. I ignored the little flutter in my stomach that came with the picture. It was a silly reaction. I guess some tiny part of me was still a teenager, even if the rest of me wasn't even sure I was human. I concentrated on that, the look on his face, the defensive way he yelled at Paul, the heat of his body…

The heat! His skin was practically burning. It felt just like Embry's arm when he put it around me. Embry, who was also just as big as Jacob, just as strong. So were Paul, and Jared, and Quil. If they were all big and strong, were they all burning too? And Quil, I could remember several times that I was aware of him being fast… Were they all that fast? Were they all the same? Were they all one of those _things_ that had taken my dad from me? I kept scribbling in the notebook, adding to the list and then writing the rest of the groups' names on the bottom.

_-Hot to the touch- literally_

_-Embry, Quil, Jared, & Paul_

I took a shaky breath, reading and re-reading each list, considering the similarities. They were so impossibly close, how could they not be related? I couldn't be a coincidence. They were almost exactly the same…

A picture flashed through my mind; the gorgeous woman reached out and grabbed my arm, brought her mouth to my collarbone. Her fingers, her lips…they'd been ice cold.

Jacob and his friends were red hot. I shivered, adding to the first list that the woman had been cold. It seemed like a significant difference, but was it enough? They _were _incredibly nice to me, but what if that was just a ruse? I guess the way they obsessed over my health didn't really fit the description of a beast that sucks warlocks dry, but still…

There had to be a connection, and I was aching to find out. It was strange to feel so determined. It had been a long time since I'd felt really focused on anything. It was unfamiliar and worrisome. I was afraid that, if I didn't rein myself in soon, I might snap again.

"Kora?"

I started at the sound of my mom's voice, snapping the notebook shut and stuffing it into my bag. "Yeah?" I looked up. She blinked at me from the doorway.

"What are you doing home?"

"I…wasn't feeling well," I replied, skipping over the specifics. She wouldn't care either way.

"Oh, okay. Did you get my prescription?"

Yup. Didn't care at all. "Yeah, here." I pulled the white paper bag out and tossed it to her.

"Thanks, sweetie. I picked up some stuff for tacos while I was out. Do you mind starting that?" She didn't wait for me to answer, just turned and walked away with her drugs.

"Sure," I replied to the empty room, then pulled myself up to make a dinner I probably wouldn't eat much of anyway.

………………………………………………

God, there was so much blood. It was everywhere, all I could see. The TV was turned up so loud, it felt like the announcers were yelling at me to run. But I couldn't. My father was lying there, broken and bleeding and…dead. So obviously dead. But still, I had to do something. I had to try to save him, even if he was past saving.

But the woman was still there, still bent over him, draining him. Why, why, _why?_ What did she get out of taking my dad from me? It wasn't just chance. It couldn't be, not when so many others like him have died the same way.

She saw me. Her bright crimson eyes locked onto mine so I couldn't look away. She stalked towards me, crouched low like a predator. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. In the back of my mind, I registered that that was wrong. She kept coming, oblivious to the sudden deviation from the script. I tried to move, tried to run, but I couldn't. My body wouldn't listen to me. I wasn't even able to take one step back. She smiled sadistically, victoriously, and reached out her long, cold hands. And then she was airborne. I watched her body fly across the room and smash through the wall into the kitchen. I was shocked, because I knew I hadn't done anything. Maybe…my dad! I looked to his body hopefully, but it was still just lying broken on the floor. My eyes kept moving, searching for what had sent the woman flying. They found him right next to me, staring in the direction she'd flown with a fiercely angry look on his face.

Jacob Black had sent the strong, fast, deadly, lovely woman flying. He looked at me, his expression changing completely to one of tender concern. He took my face between his burning hands and leveled his eyes with mine. "Don't be afraid," he said in that deep, husky voice. And then he hugged me. He just wrapped me up in those big, too-warm arms and held me against his chest. I still couldn't move, couldn't protest or return his embrace. But I was crying, just crying. Because I didn't know what he meant when he said, "Don't be afraid," and I had no voice to ask with.

I sat up, throwing off the blankets so the air could reach my skin again. I looked around the room, waiting for my heart to settle back into a normal rhythm. My surroundings slowly registered; the TV, the coffee table, the couch. I took several deep breaths and wiped my face with the back of my hands. Air. I needed air.

I stood up and shuffled over to the glass sliding door that lead onto the little deck in the back yard, pausing only for a moment to squint at the clock on the VCR. 2:30AM. I opened the door and stepped out into the chilly September night. The nippy breeze quickly swept away the vivid memory of my dream. For some reason, my skin had stayed too warm, like I was still in his arms… I shivered and crossed the deck to lean on the railing. It didn't make any sense. Why had my dream suddenly changed? I hung my head, scrubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. It was probably a one-time thing anyway. Just a result of all the obsessing I'd done that afternoon and before I'd fallen asleep.

The sound of crickets was the only thing I could hear besides my own breathing. It didn't take long to calm down. Something moved on the deck behind me and I jumped and whirled around. Binx skulked towards me across the wood, looking guilty.

"Oh, Binx," I murmured. "Where have you been?" He rubbed against my leg, his way of asking for forgiveness for disappearing all day. "Yeah, yeah. It's okay." As I bent down to scratch his ears, he suddenly froze, staring unblinkingly into the woods. "Binx?" A low growl sounded in his throat. It was a mistrustful sound. Something wasn't right. I straightened up and looked around, trying to make sense of the dark shapes under the canopy of trees. I tried to follow the cat's gaze, focusing my eyes on the same patch of darkness he had. If I hadn't been staring, I probably wouldn't have noticed, but something moved the tiniest bit. It was enough for me to make out the rough outline of something _huge_. And I could've sworn that, just for a second, the moonlight glinted off a pair of eyes. Without hesitation, I grabbed Binx and ran inside, sliding the glass door shut and locking it as if that would keep a bear away. And what else could it have been? It sure as hell wasn't _human_. I pulled the curtains over the glass and retreated to the couch, curling up under the blankets with Binx against my chest, comforted by his purr. He obviously wasn't too worried. Maybe I'd imagined it. But, Binx didn't react like that to nothing…

Maybe I wouldn't have been so freaked out if I weren't completely defenseless. But without my Rights, I was weak. After living my whole life with that little extra spark in my veins to energize me, it was incredibly uncomfortable to go without. It was like missing an arm or one of the five senses. I felt vulnerable. But I would just have to deal with that, because I couldn't say my Rights without my dad. He was always there when I did it. It would be…abnormal…to do it without him.

I tried to think about something else, but the only other thing that came to mind was the way it had felt, at the end of my dream, to be held by Jacob Black. It wasn't real, but it still gave me goose bumps. Another stupid reaction brought on by whatever part of me could think that way. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it, but a bigger part of me felt guilty for even considering…

_Don't be afraid._

Of what?

………………………………………………

It was surprisingly bright when I woke up the next morning. After blinking against the light a few times, I realized someone had pulled the curtains back again. I got up and walked over to the glass, automatically scanning the woods. Nothing. The entire thing was starting to feel like a dream. Maybe it had been my imagination.

That was when I realized something else. It was actually _sunny_ outside. I stared at the grass, lit up by the bright yellow rays. The entire forest actually looked incredible in the light. My heart lifted slightly for just a moment, which was how long it took for me to glance at the clock and realize it was one in the afternoon.

While I was mid-panic, the front door opened and closed, and Aunt Talia appeared briefly in the room as she brought some bags into the kitchen. "Oh good, you're up!" she said as she went. I followed her quickly.

"Aunt Talia, why didn't anyone wake me?" I asked.

"I decided it would be a good idea for you to have a rest after passing out yesterday," she replied. "We don't need that happening again!"

"But it's only my third day."

"So you won't miss much. Besides, I have something much more important for us to do this afternoon."

"What about work?"

"The pharmacy's closed on Wednesdays, dear. Now!" Talia grinned, pulling out a large bag of chocolate chips. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Your much more important task is baking cookies?" I asked skeptically.

"Of course! There is nothing more important than cookies. Read me the ingredients off the back of this, will you dear? I'll gather everything up…" She handed me the bag of Nestle chocolate chips, and I shrugged and started reading the ingredients aloud. It wasn't long until she had me dumping flour into a huge mixing bowl while she stirred.

"How many cookies are we _making_, anyway?"

Aunt Talia smiled. "As many as we want!"

"Okay…" I continued to follow her instructions, adding things when she asked for them. Once everything was in the bowl, she had me mix in the chocolate chips. After several minutes of silence, I looked up to find her studying me from her seat across the table. She smiled brightly, and I suddenly found myself blurting, "Aunt Talia, what do you know about Jacob Black?" I knew I was blushing, but she didn't seem to notice. She didn't even give me a look or ask me why I wanted to know.

"He's a good boy, good family," she replied. "Must be hard, though, having to take care of his father all the time."

"Billy."

"Yes, Billy." Talia cocked her head to the side.

"I met him at the store," I explained.

"Ah. Well, if there's any group of kids around here worth knowing it's that Jacob Black and his friends. They're good kids. Reckless, yes, but good." She nodded.

"Oh." We fell silent after that. The only sound for a while being that of the spoon scraping the sides of the bowl. The front door opened and closed.

"I'm home!" Tim yelled. I saw him walk into the living room through the kitchen door and collapse on the couch, ignoring my blankets. He flipped on the TV to some sports channel. I flinched at the familiar sound of announcers. They sound the same on every sports broadcast.

"Okay, I think that's about ready to go into the oven," Aunt Talia said. She stood up and rummaged through some cabinets, pulling out six different cookie sheets. "Yes, we'll have to do a couple of batches…" She set them in a pile on the flour-coated table and set one separately. She sprayed it quickly with Pam, then grabbed a couple of spoons so we could start scooping. "Why did you want to know about Jacob, anyway?"

"Oh, um, I was…just curious," I said. It wasn't a complete lie.

"Ah, I see." She totally didn't believe me. The doorbell rang. "Tim, would you get that, please, dear?"

"Why do I gotta do it?" Tim complained.

"Timothy!"

"Fine, whatever!" He got up and slumped out of view. I went to put the first sheet into the oven while Aunt Talia started loading up the second. I was balancing the tray in one hand while opening the oven when Tim called my name. "Kooor-aaaa, get over here!"

I sighed. "I'm a little preoccupied right now, Tim!"

"Fine, God!" He got irritated way too quickly. I reached down, holding the faulty oven door open while carefully placing the tray inside. "There, you've seen her, now get out." I looked up when I heard Tim's voice in the room with us.

"Don't be rude, Timothy," Aunt Talia reprimanded. That was when I noticed, for the first time, Jacob Black standing behind my cousin, just looking at me like he dropped by all the time.

"Hey," he said.

"Ow! Oh my _God_, ow!" I said. That may sound like a pretty weird response when someone says hello, but the truth is that as soon as I saw him I let go of the oven door in surprise and it closed on my arm. Jacob was at my side in a second, opening the oven with one hand and pulling my arm out with the other.

"Put it under this," Talia ordered, turning the faucet on cold. Jacob practically lifted me up to bring me over, putting my forearm under the stream of water. I groaned and slumped against him, letting him support me. For once, I didn't really care that he moved inhumanly fast. I was actually a little grateful. If I'd been touching that hot metal for a second longer… I shuddered.

"Are you all right?" Tim asked, dancing from foot to foot. It looked like he didn't know what to do, but I was touched by his concern…vaguely. Aunt Talia had disappeared from the kitchen.

"No," I moaned. "It fuckin' hurts." Now, normally (or, to be more specific, _recently_) I don't curse. At least, not so nastily. Hell was one thing, but fuck was an entirely new level. But, honestly, there was no other way to convey my message. "It hurts" just wouldn't cut it. "It really fuckin' _hurts_." It sounded like Jacob, who was still supporting me with one hand at my waist and the other holding my wrist, growled. But that was probably my imagination due to wooziness from the pain.

Aunt Talia flitted back into the room, brandishing a tube of something. "I've some burn ointment. Let me see."

"I'll do it," Jacob said. He ushered me over to the table, sitting me down and taking a seat next to me. He kept hold of my wrist. Aunt Talia handed him a towel and he used it to gently dry the two burns. There was one on either side of my arm, from the oven itself and from the door. I hissed quietly when he touched them. "Sorry," he murmured, sounding sincerely apologetic, like he'd given me the burns himself. He was all business the next second, though. "Ointment?" Talia handed it to him. He rested my arm on the table, angled so the burns wouldn't touch the surface, and quickly unscrewed the cap. "I work on cars, so I get burned a lot," he explained his burn expertise quietly while he worked. As gently as possible, he smeared a thin layer of the ointment across each burn. I sighed in relief when the gel instantly cooled my skin and eased the pain. It was strange to see Jacob's large hands performing such delicate tasks. It didn't seem possible. "There. Feel better?"

"Yes, thank you," I answered meekly. Aunt Talia's hand appeared again, this time holding out a bandage that Jacob started to quickly but carefully wrap around my forearm. He secured it with a safety pin and smiled at me, looking strangely relieved. His fingers lingered on the inside of my wrist. I could feel the heat just from his fingertips. It reminded me of my dream. I looked away and leaned back, but left my arm where it was. I kind of liked the feeling of his heat on my skin, though I hated to admit it. "So, um, did you need something?" I was suddenly very aware that we were alone in the kitchen. I wondered where Aunt Talia had gone. Didn't she know you weren't supposed to leave teenage girls alone in rooms with teenage boys?

"Oh, yeah," Jacob said, leaning back as well, though I noticed he didn't move his hand. His expression turned serious. "You weren't in school today."

"No, I wasn't."

He tilted his head to the side and studied my face, probably trying to decipher my expression. "I thought you might be sick or something so I thought I'd stop by…"

"You could have called," I pointed out.

"I guess so, but I pass this way on my way home anyway." My breath caught in my throat. He looked down at my arm. "Though, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to just show up."

"You surprised me," I agreed.

"Obviously." He was smiling again when he looked back at me. "Why'd you stay home?"

"No one woke me up." Jacob's eyebrows rose. "Aunt Talia wanted to give me the day off…and it was really important that we make cookies." He chuckled. "You really didn't have to come…"

"I wanted to." I was having a hard time looking away from his eyes. Luckily, Aunt Talia chose that moment to reappear. I pulled my arm away from his hand instinctively.

"Oh, Jacob, it's so wonderful to see you again," she tittered. "It's been ages!"

"It has," Jacob agreed.

"Well, you know what they say! Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear!" She laughed. I blushed.

"You were talking about me?" He smirked.

"Yes, well, you know. Girl talk and all that. But anyway, since you're here, why don't you stay and help us finish up? I'm sure Kora doesn't want to go anywhere near that oven now."

Jacob frowned. "No, definitely not."

"You don't have to," I said quickly. "I'm sure you have better things to do."

He smiled. "Not really. Besides, I'm good with ovens. I do the majority of the cooking at home." So he stayed for pretty much the rest of the afternoon. Aunt Talia kept disappearing randomly for periods of time that got longer and longer until she just didn't come back at all. Jacob and I came up with a pretty good routine. I set up the trays for baking, he put them in and took them out and used a spatula to move the finished cookies onto a paper towel in between. In an attempt to dispel the initial awkwardness, he suggested we play Twenty Questions while we worked. I shrugged and agreed.

"Is it a woman?" I asked as I plopped another scoop of dough onto the cookie sheet.

"Yep," Jacob replied. He slid the spatula easily under another cookie and flipped it into the growing pile.

"Is she famous?"

"Nope."

"Does she have red hair?"

"No."

"Blonde?"

"Are you kidding? No."

"Brown, then?"

"Ding ding ding! Yes."

"Okay, it's a woman, she isn't famous, and she has brown hair." I pursed my lips and handed him the tray to put in the oven. He obliged, and meanwhile I grabbed the next tray and started the process all over again. "Is it Kim?"

"Nope." Jacob was smiling when he reappeared to continue his job.

I paused, brandishing my spoon at him. "Do I even know this person?"

He looked shocked that I would even suggest him cheating. "Of course!"

I sighed. "Okay…is it Michelle?" I asked, thinking of the know-it-all girl from creative writing.

Jacob made a face. "Ew. No."

"Is she pretty?"

He smiled. "Yep."

I scooped up some more dough and put it on the tray. "Is it Talia?"

"Your _grandma_? No."

"But she's pretty."

"I didn't say she wasn't. I just said she's not the person I'm thinking of."

I sighed. "Miss Prowley?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "No."

"Is it a teacher?"

"No."

"The school nurse?"

"No, Kora."

I sighed, exasperated. "This game is so stupid!"

"You only think it's stupid because you suck at it."

"I do not suck at it. It's Twenty Questions. Nobody sucks at Twenty Questions." As we'd played, it had grown easier and easier to talk to him. Now, it was hard to remember how I'd ever thought he could be the same as that terrible woman in my dreams. There was something weird going on with him and his friends, I was sure of that, but it wasn't what I'd thought. I couldn't imagine someone as nice as Jacob Black being a creature that evil.

"Then why haven't you won any of the games?" Jacob asked.

"Because you keep cheating!"

"I do not cheat." He grimaced.

"You do _too_."

He waved away my accusation. "Sure, sure. Now are you going to ask me another question or not?"

I made a face at him. "Do I see her often?"

"Yes."

"How often?"

Jacob wagged a finger at me. "Nuh-uh. Yes or no questions only."

"Ugh. Do I see her every day?"

He paused thoughtfully. "Yeah, probably." He smirked. "Four questions left."

"No way, it's five!"

"Four."

"Five!"

"Four. You're not counting the invalid question."

"But it was invalid!"

"That's not _my_ fault." Jacob grinned and set his now empty tray aside before going to retrieve another from the oven.

I grumbled. "Does she _cheat_ at Twenty Questions?"

He laughed, walking back over. "No. Nice waste of a question, though."

"Ugh. Just tell me who it is already." I threw my hands up in surrender.

"Do you forfeit?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Jacob grinned and reached over to wipe some flour from my cheek. "I was thinking of you, stupid."

I blinked. "Oh." He kept smiling. "That is _so_ cheating."

"No it isn't. There's no rule that says the questioned can't be thinking of the questioner!"

"You and your loopholes. I'd like to see you try and weasel your way out of Truth."

"Truth? What's that?"

"A game," I said simply.

"Really? How do you play?"

"You just ask each other questions."

"That's it? What are the rules?"

"There's only one rule. You have to answer every question with the truth."

Jacob scoffed. "That doesn't sound so hard."

I raised my eyebrows. "You'd be surprised." I handed him the last tray to put in the oven and sat down to eat the remnants of cookie dough out of the bowl. He came back with another tray to empty.

"Try me," he said.

I stared at him seriously. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Jacob smirked. "Positive."

"All right. What's your favorite color?"

"Oh, come on, Kora. Give me a real question."

"That is a real question!" He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I was just trying to ease you in but if you _insist_." I thought hard, sifting through all the questions I wanted to ask him. I took a deep breath. "How'd you get your heart broken?"

Jacob froze, halfway through sliding the spatula under a cookie. A moment later, he kept moving, staring down at what he was doing. "I…fell in love with my best friend. She loved me too but…she loved someone else more."

"What was her name?"

"Bella." He flinched. I remembered the name from the argument on the beach. It seemed like ages ago. "Okay, my turn, right?" Jacob glanced at me with a small smile to show he wasn't mad about my question. "What were you thinking about on the field yesterday?"

I breathed in sharply. That was a tough one, but I guess it wasn't as tough as what I'd asked him. "I was…thinking about a dream I keep having." He waited, silently, for me to continue. "A nightmare, really. In it, the TV's always playing football."

"Which is why you spaced while playing football?"

"Yes."

Jacob finished with his tray and walked over to get the last one. "Your turn again."

"Oh, yeah." I paused to think again. "Okay, how did you _really_ get to me so fast yesterday?" He set the hot tray down and looked at me.

"I thought you dropped that."

I shook my head. "Nope."

He sighed. "All right." He started shoveling cookies. "I'm…kind of…different." I waited. "I'm a lot faster than your average human. Stronger, too. And I run a temperature of about 108.9 degrees usually."

"But you _are_ human."

"One hundred percent grade A!" He smiled ruefully. "I'm just…"

"Different," I offered.

"Yeah." Different. I could relate to that. "Okay, what makes this nightmare of yours so scary?" Oh, no. I was afraid he'd ask something like that.

"Well…there's…blood," I started. "A lot of it."

Jacob finished shoveling cookies, moved the tray and sat down. "Is that all? Just blood?"

"No. There's a body." His face didn't change. He just kept looking at me.

"Whose body is it?"

I took several deep breaths, fighting back a wave of nausea and whatever came with it. "My dad's."

Jacob's expression changed with that. His eyes widened and he sat back a little. "You dream about your father dying a lot?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet his. "Because I saw it." He inhaled sharply.

"Wow, Kora, I-"

"Kora! Where are you?" My mother's voice made us both jump and look to the door.

"Um, I'm in the kitchen!" I called back. A moment later she appeared in the doorway, laden with shopping bags. She liked to spend money we didn't have when she was supposed to be job hunting.

"Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," I lied.

"That's good. Who's this?" Her eyes landed on Jacob for the first time.

"Mom, this is Jacob Black. Jacob, this is my mom." I gestured between them halfheartedly.

"Oh! The boy who kept calling the other night. I remember."

I groaned. "Mom…"

"Heh, yeah, that was me," Jacob said. "Sorry about that. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Wolfe." He stood up to shake her hand. She had to drop a few bags first.

"It's lovely to meet you too! And don't worry about it. I was really just happy that Kora was getting phone calls from a boy! You know, she didn't get called often back in New Mexico…"

"Mom! Seriously." I stood up and brought the mixing bowl to the sink just so I wouldn't have to look at Jacob.

"Really? Wow, I find that hard to believe. I'd've thought she'd had to beat them off with a stick." I ignored him, turning the faucet on to fill the bowl with water.

"Yes, well, Kora was a little…intimidating." I made a face at my mother's words, even though she couldn't see it.

"Intimidating? Really?"

"She used to be very outgoing. And, unfortunately, she tended to talk with her fists…"

"Okay!" I said, whirling around and taking in Jacob's amused expression. "I think Jacob has to go now." Aunt Talia suddenly reappeared and started cleaning up the table. Of course, now she decides to come back. I walked quickly across the room, grabbing Jacob's hand as I passed him and dragging him out of the kitchen. I didn't stop moving until we were outside with the front door closed, then I turned to look at him. He was watching me with a speculative look on his face. The porch light cast a shadow over his features- the dark, soulful eyes and high cheekbones. The sun had already set and I wondered what time it was.

"Listen, Kora, about your dad…" he said softly, tightening his fingers around my hand. I didn't realize that I hadn't let go until that moment.

I looked away. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. You don't have to say anything."

Jacob was silent for a few seconds. "Kora…" The fingers of his free hand found my chin and he turned my head so I had to look at him. His eyebrows were pulled together, his eyes coated in sincerity. "I'm sad for you. I really am."

I jerked my head away from his hand. I could feel the wall coming back up before it started showing on my face. "Don't be."

"Kora." He sounded frustrated as he dropped my hand and took my face between both of his. They were too warm, but they sent a tingling through my skin that wasn't entirely unpleasant. "Kora, don't block me out now, okay? Let me help you."

"I can handle it."

"Like you have been, pretending to be perfectly okay and putting on your bravest face? Avoiding all your emotions so you won't have to feel the ones that scare you?" I tried to move my eyes away from his, but couldn't. His description was spot on. "Don't be afraid, Kora." _Don't be afraid. _Just like my dream. Once again, I couldn't find my voice to ask him what I shouldn't be afraid of. Somewhere in the woods, a wolf howled, the only sound in the growing silence between us. Jacob looked towards the back of my house for a second and let his hands fall away from my face. "Look, Kora, I have to go. I'm late." Oh yeah, he works nights. "But I want you to know, I really liked hanging out with you this afternoon." He met my eyes again. "I really like the Kora I got to see today. I wish she'd come around more often." Jacob suddenly broke into a wide smile. The contrast between his dark skin and bright white teeth was shocking. He reached out to brush his thumb over my forehead. "You still have flour all over you."

"Oh," was all I could say. Another howl sounded through the woods.

"Okay, I'd better go. Will you be at school tomorrow?" I nodded. "Cool. I'll see you then. Bye, Kor." I watched him jog to his car and get in, then kept watching as he pulled away and his taillights disappeared into the night.

It took me a while to find motion again. I just stood there for seconds or minutes, listening to the crickets, the howls still coming from the same direction. When I could finally move again, I went inside, pausing for a moment when I heard another howl from a different direction, answering the call of the first.

**All righty, so they know a little more about each other now. Lemme know what ya think! :)**

**-Gina!**


	7. Datemark

**I'm back! Honestly, I would have much rather stayed home and wrote for all you lovely people, but I had no choice but to go on vacation with my parents. It was thoroughly boring, and I had to spend ten hours in the car sharing the back seat with my dog. Argh. Oh well, I'm home now and that's what matters!**

**Anyway, thank you so much for being patient with me this last week! I didn't want to rush this chapter, or I would have had it up before I left. Anyway, there's not much action here but I'm happy with it. I hope you will be too.**

**As I say every time, thank you for the awesome feedback. Much love! Enjoy. **

Chapter Seven: Datemark

**Kora**

Tim didn't look too happy when we pulled into the school parking lot on Friday and Jacob was waiting for me- again- next to the sign in front of the courtyard. Jacob, on the other hand, looked quite the opposite. His entire face lit up when he saw me, and he waved enthusiastically. I gave him my usual closed-lipped sort-of-smile and waved back as Tim cut the engine.

"Jesus, doesn't he have anything better to do than wait around for you all morning?" Tim complained.

"I dunno," I answered his rhetorical question. "Probably." Tim made a displeased noise that I ignored as I opened the door and stepped out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as I shut it harder than I needed to.

"Watch it, Kora!" Tim snapped as he closed his door a lot softer. "She's a delicate piece of machinery!"

"It's a car. I don't know why you're so protective of it. It's not like you built it yourself. I bet you don't even know the engine from the exhaust pipe." I snorted.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't talk. Who the hell builds cars anyway?" We started walking to the courtyard.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't exist. And Jacob built his car practically from scratch."

"Jacob Black is a freak- and so are you for hanging out with him!"

"Ouch, Tim. That hurt. Right here. In my heart." I pointed to the left half of my chest. Tim opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again when Jacob appeared next to me.

"Is there a problem?" he asked casually.

"Maybe," Tim replied icily. "What's it to you?"

"It's just that, well, if you're bothering Kora I'd have to, y'know, kill you." Jacob smiled, like he gave out death threats all the time.

"Yeah, sure, I'd like to see you try." Tim was suddenly flanked on either side by friends from the soccer team. Did they sense a disturbance in the force or something?

"Tim," I warned. For some reason, I could imagine Jacob taking out the whole team single-handed. I doubted he'd have trouble with three. Not that he'd have to because, of course, wherever Jacob goes Quil and Embry aren't far behind.

"Well, hey there, Timmy," Embry greeted with a smile. "How're you doing?"

"Don't call me that," Tim snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, there's no need to get snippy," Quil said. "Methinks we should go and find Paul and Jared. They're probably wondering where we are." He nodded to himself and started ushering us towards the building. Embry did the same, steering Jacob while Quil slung an arm casually across my shoulders. Burning hot, as always.

"Fine, you can have her!" Tim called after us. "She's a bitch anyway!"

"And not even cute!" one of his friends added. They laughed.

Jacob spun around so fast I didn't even see the movement. It wasn't the first time. What was new was the way Embry put his whole arm across his chest to restrain him and Quil let go of me to grab his arm.

"No, Jake," Quil said in a low voice. Jacob's hands were shaking, kind of like they had on the beach when he and Quil had argued. He was glaring in the direction Tim and his friends had walked off. "C'mon, man, they're not worth it."

"But they said-" Jacob began. He broke off as a tremor went through his whole body. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"Hey," I said, taking one of his hands. "Don't worry about it. They're idiots." The tension in his brow eased and his fingers uncurled just to close around mine. "Jacob?" He opened his eyes, the shaking fading away. Quil and Embry slowly let go and stepped back. "You shouldn't let them piss you off so easily."

"But…the things they said…they don't bother you?" Jacob asked.

"They only bother me as far as being annoying," I replied. "If I took every insult I ever got personally I'd be a very bitter person. At least, more bitter than usual." We started walking again but he kept his fingers curled around mine. It seemed to keep him content, so I resisted the urge to pull my hand out of his grasp.

"Do people insult you often?" he asked reproachfully.

"Is that your next question?" We'd taken to continuing our game of Truth whenever we felt like it. The others were pretty confused when we spent lunch on Thursday with our heads bent together across the table talking in low voices, but they got used to it. We'd even done it during gym, where Jacob had hovered over me the whole period. Apparently, he was afraid I might collapse again or something. But the questioning kept my mind from making the connection between the game and my memory, so I was thankful.

"I guess so," Jacob said, shrugging.

"Yes and no. In my old town, kids learned pretty quickly that it wasn't a good idea to mess with me."

"Why?"

"Well, believe it or not, I used to be pretty violent. I never bothered with catty girl games. I went straight for the right hook."

"Hell, I'd like to see that." Jacob grinned, probably imagining my fist colliding with Michelle's face. He found the girl incredibly annoying for some reason. I didn't mind her- except when she was muttering about me behind my back. I chose to just ignore her, though. She didn't have power unless I gave it to her, and nothing could really touch me anymore. I'd already experienced unspeakable pain, so what's a few snide remarks and bad names?

"Sorry, but I don't think you will. I'm not like that anymore."

"I know. You don't like confrontation. But it's interesting to think about…" I blinked at him, but he didn't notice. I couldn't remember mentioning my aversion to fights… "Okay, you're turn."

"Where'd Quil and Embry go?" I asked, suddenly realizing their absence.

Jacob's face fell. "Is that seriously your question?"

"Of course not. I was just wondering…" Jacob shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway. What to ask, what to ask…" I pondered for a moment. We'd been avoiding the touchier subjects since he asked me about my nightmare. I actually hadn't thought about it all Thursday or much of Wednesday. It didn't escape my attention that both of those times I was with Jacob. I decided to stick with what I thought was a safer subject than my bad dreams or his Bella (who I was becoming increasingly curious about). "Why didn't you like me when we first met?"

Jacob eyed me warily. "I thought I told you already."

"Well, you told me I reminded you of someone…" I trailed off, motioning for him to add on. He sighed.

"You remind me of Bella. At least, you did at first." He watched my face for a reaction, but continued when he didn't get one. "It was mostly because you looked so sad. When Bella and I first…got close, she was the same way. She had the same sadness in her eyes that you have in yours." I looked down at the ground, concentrating on the feel of my feet hitting the sidewalk for a few seconds.

"I thought I was better at hiding it," I mumbled, doubting he could even hear me.

"You probably are," Jacob replied. I looked up, surprised that he'd understood what I said. "I just look too close, that's all. If it wasn't me, or if it had been some other time…" He shook his head. "Your mask might have worked."

"What do you mean, if it wasn't you?" I asked.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Jacob grinned and touched his finger to the tip of my nose in a silencing gesture. "It's my turn now." He let his hand fall to his side and his smile got a little less bright. "How long ago was it? That you found your father?"

I pursed my lips, breathing deeply. "What's today?"

Jacob counted silently on his fingers. "Uh, the twelfth. I think." I froze mid-step and let my foot drop to the ground. He stopped too, when he realized a half a beat later that I wasn't walking anymore. "Kora? What's wrong?" He dropped my hand and grabbed my shoulders as if to keep me steady. "Kora? Hello? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you feel like you're going to faint? Talk to me, please." I shook my head, my eyes focusing on his expression of frantic concern.

"I'm fine," I said weakly. "I just… Today's the twelfth."

Jacob nodded, still holding onto me like he was afraid I might collapse at any second. "Yes, today's the twelfth."

"So tomorrow's the thirteenth," I continued, my voice a bit more subdued.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Oh…" I looked down at my hands, trying to imagine all the times I'd drawn a blade across my palm to say my Rights. I stared hard, trying to project the image of a thousand scars onto my skin. But it was flawless. The healing was always complete. I never had a scratch on me for more than a few seconds. The burns from Wednesday were still a little raw only because I had no power in me. I was normal. Well, as normal as I could be.

"Kora?" Jacob called warily. I looked up again into his worried gaze. Maybe my next question would be "Why are you so ridiculously worried about me all the time?" I was certainly curious about that.

"Um, it'll be two months next Saturday."

He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"That's how long it's been."

Jacob just looked at me for what seemed like ages, his forehead all scrunched up in that cute face he makes whenever he's trying to figure something out. I knew, because I'd watched him out of the corner of my eye during creative writing the day before, and I'd also seen him make the same face while considering some of my questions. "Kora…what's so important about the thirteenth?"

"Nothing, nothing." I tried to sound casual as I shrugged out from under his hands. They suddenly felt too hot on my shoulders. Jacob opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the bell. "I have to go. I'll see you second period." I ducked into the stream of students heading in the general direction of my first class. As soon as I got inside, I let myself relax a little and slowed my pace. Hopefully he would forget all about the thirteenth and what it might mean. He couldn't find out about me. No one could. It was too dangerous. Knowing my luck I'd wind up locked away in Area 51 being poked and prodded by creepy scientists for the rest of my life. Or worse, word would somehow find its way to that woman and she'd come for me…

I shivered as I sat down. Quil beamed at me until he saw my expression. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, God!" I cried. "What is with everyone giving me the third degree on how I feel all the time!?"

"Whoa, down girl. Sorry. What did Jake do?"

I reined my irritation back in, mentally scolding myself for getting overexcited. "He didn't do anything. I'm just having…an off day. That's all."

"You seemed perfectly fine this morning, holding hands with Jake." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Are you implying something?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Perhaps."

I pulled out my homework and kept staring at him. "Don't be ridiculous. You know it's not like that."

"That's not what it looked like!" Quil chirped in this weird sing-songy voice.

"Well, you need to get your eyes checked. Jacob and I are just friends, that's all. I mean, we hardly know each other." I shrugged.

"But you _want _to know each other." His tone made it clear he wasn't talking about conversation over tea.

"Quil, please don't make me punch you."

Quil laughed, blatantly. "You'd just break your hand."

"Don't underestimate me."

"I'm not. I'm sure you've got a great punch in you. That's why I'm worried."

"Well I guess with a skull as thick as yours…"

He just grinned. "That's right. Keep your hands to yourself. Unless, of course, it's Jake you're with. In that case I'm sure you can make an exception." He winked and I glared. I moved to hit him on the arm but he grabbed my wrist before I could. His face suddenly got very serious. "Please, _please_ don't break your hand on me. Jake'd tear my throat out."

I pulled my hand back and cocked my head to the side. "Why would he care?"

Quil made a face at me, then said in a falsetto voice, "Don't be _ridiculous_, Quil. You know it's not _like _that, Quil. We're just _friends_, Quil."

"I do not sound like that," I said, a little amused by his poor imitation of my voice. It was a really weird feeling, being amused. "And it's true. We _are_ just friends."

Quil shrugged and turned to face forward. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart." I made a face at him and turned around as well. The odd thing was, my easy friendship with Jacob _had _somehow helped me sleep at night. Well, maybe I wouldn't say it like that, but it seemed to me that on the days that I spent a significant amount of time talking to Jacob I slept straight through the night without a single dream or nightmare. Okay, maybe a dream or two, but they were never bad. They mostly consisted of…well…Jacob. But that was not something I was about to admit to out loud. Because I was right, it wasn't like that with us. We _were_ just friends. I chose to ignore Quil for the rest of the period, which worked out fine for the both of us.

I was in no hurry to get to my next class, which is probably why first period seemed to go by so quickly. I also figured that was the reason for the racing clock because usually American history class went by extremely slow. But, alas, it didn't this time, and I was walking into creative writing before you could say "Great Depression." Seriously.

Jacob smiled at me brightly as I sat down. "How was history?" he asked.

"Boring," I replied warily. Hopefully, he wouldn't mention the thirteenth. "How was math?" He just made a face. "I know, I understand."

Kim turned around in her seat to look at me. "A bunch of us are gonna watch movies at my house after school. You in?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"You can get a ride with me," Jacob offered.

"Okay." Miss Prowley came into the room, immediately gaining the entire class's attention. She was one of those teachers that everybody liked, or at the very least respected. She kept us busy discussing poems by E.E. Cummings for the whole period. The rest of the day went by without incident. Apparently, Jacob forgot all about the thirteenth, or at least he decided to let it go. He didn't mention it again, not even when he ushered me to his car at the end of the day and we followed Jared's van (probably the only kind of car that could fit this particularly social group) to Kim's house.

"…and then Embry and Quil stuck up for me and yelled at the kid for knocking down my sand castle and we've been best friends ever since," Jacob finished explaining to me how he'd met Quil and Embry. That had been my next question, which he was a little embarrassed to answer because it involved him crying in the sandbox. But he's a boy and boys are competitive, and if he passed he would lose. He finished his story just as we pulled up in front of a cute little white doublewide. The windows had those flower boxes under them and there was a little garden next to the door with a ceramic gnome in it. Kim, Jared, Embry, Quil, and Paul were already walking inside. We got out of Jacob's car and followed them. He seemed to know where he was going, leading me down the little hall to the left and into a small living room. Though, I'm pretty sure it looked a lot smaller than it actually was with all the huge teenage boys lounging across various pieces of furniture.

As I sat down on one end of the couch, a fluffy black cat hopped up beside me. I automatically opened my arms to welcome her into my lap, scratching behind her ears as she curled up, purring happily in my arms. I looked up when I realized that everyone had fallen suddenly silent. They were all staring at me with looks of complete shock on their faces.

"What?" I said self-consciously.

Paul was the first to recover. "Is it actually _purring_?" The way he made a face and spat the word "it" offended me a little. I feel instinctively close to pretty much every cat I meet. Or, rather, they feel close to me.

"Yes, _she_ is," I replied. I could also tell right off what gender a cat was. Don't ask me why because I really don't know.

Kim seemed to be the most surprised. "But…that cat was my grandmas and it- I mean, she, hates _everyone_." She'd corrected herself when she saw the look on my face.

"Oh, um, well, I, uh…" I tried to think of something to say to ease their apprehension. It was always the most difficult to keep my secret when I was around cats, because they always love me no matter what their disposition is to the rest of the people in their lives. They feel a kinship with me because of the stupid bond we have. It can be kind of irritating. Once I was even bombarded by six or seven house cats that were just drawn to me and started rubbing against me like I was their mother or something. That one was hard to explain. "I'm uh…good with cats, I guess."

Paul, still making a face, turned back around to continue messing with the DVD player. Kim stared for a moment longer, then looked away. Everyone else did the same, except for Jacob, who had an odd look on his face that was sort of a cross between awe and irritation. When he caught my eye the annoyance disappeared and he forced a smile before sitting down on the floor in front of me and to the side. He stretched out, leaning back against the couch, and stared at the TV screen as Paul finally got the movie going.

I'm really sure what we watched. I think it was one of the _Scary Movie_s. I don't know which one, but I'm pretty sure it was making fun of that Mel Gibson movie with the aliens and Joaquin Phoenix. I wasn't really watching. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes kept straying to Jacob. Someone had drawn the curtains to give the room a movie theater feel, but I could still see the side of his face in the glow from the television. Every time he smiled or laughed I would watch the way his lips moved over his bright white teeth, notice the slight dimple in his cheek.

I didn't realize how much I was staring until Quil leaned over to me in the darkness and whispered, "You're drooling." Like a fool, I reached up to wipe at my chin frantically, but of course I wasn't really drooling. I shot Quil a look, but he just smiled, satisfied. I forced myself to look directly at the screen for the last twenty minutes of the movie, not really seeing what was going on. It was ridiculous, and I would hate myself for it later, but there was just something about Jacob that undeniably demanded my attention, and thus brought the heavy weight of guilt to my heart for what I thought of as a betrayal.

My father deserved a daughter who would always put him first in her mind. He deserved a much better daughter than me.

**Thank you again for your patience! I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to have the next one up much sooner, but as school is quickly approaching and I still have much summer reading and an algebra packet to deal with I'm not sure when I'll be able to write next. I adore you all for being so great and sticking with me even when I'm a total jerk and keep you waiting. I don't deserve you. xD**

**-Gina**


	8. Things Fall Apart

**So! It's been a long ass time, I know, and I'm sorry. Honestly, there were a few months in there where I couldn't STAND Twilight or anything having to DO with Twilight. I think it was the sudden obsession with it that irked me. It was EVERYWHERE, and probably worse for me because I go to a school full of squealing teenage fangirls, all of whom are obsessed with the WRONG character, if you ask me. (Edward is so overrated. But oh well. More for us, eh?) ANYWAYS, I watched New Moon bootleg to decide if it's worth the ten bucks (since the Twilight movie was such an epic disaster, in my opinion), and decided yes. It is worth ten bucks just for the scene where Taylor Lautner is shirtless in the rain. Needless to say, I felt a little inspired, and decided to revisit this story and resurrect my dear Kora and Stephanie's darling Jake.**

**Having said that, I apologize if Kora seems at all out of character or strange in comparison to past chapters. It's been a while since I wrote her, so I'm a little worried. Any sudden, noticeable changes in her personality were probably unintentional, but she IS supposed to be developing somewhat throughout the story, so minor things are cool.**

**Aight, so, to anybody who may have still been following this story after all this time: enjoy. Even though it's short. I just wanted to give ya'all something! :]**

Chapter Eight: Things Fall Apart

**Kora**

_Turning and turning in the widening gyre  
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;  
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;  
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,  
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere  
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;  
The best lack all conviction, while the worst  
Are full of passionate intensity._

_Surely some revelation is at hand;  
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.  
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out  
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi  
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert  
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,  
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,  
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it  
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.  
The darkness drops again; but now I know  
That twenty centuries of stony sleep  
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,  
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,  
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?_

I rubbed my eyes before looking over the poem again. For the eighth time. In the last twenty minutes. I groaned, tilting my head back and pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. I just couldn't get my brain to focus enough to grasp the words for more than three seconds. I'd been sitting at the kitchen table reading the same poem over and over again for over an hour.

Normally, I had no problem figuring out a poem. Normally, it took ten minutes or less for me to decipher the meaning behind the words; at least, it did when the poem was in simple language like this one. Normally it was easy.

Normally, it wasn't the thirteenth of the month.

I slumped forward and rested my forehead on my textbook. Every cell in my body was vibrating with the need to be outside; to commune with nature the way I was born to. The problem was, whenever I even thought about going out into the woods and saying my Rights, I couldn't suppress the twinge of hurt and guilt. It was an activity I always did with my dad. I couldn't bare the thought of trying to do it all by myself. Besides, it wasn't entirely necessary for life, even if it would restore a lot of my usual strength and energy.

The phone rang. I sat up and waited for someone to answer it. They didn't. After the third ring I stood up and shuffled over to the cordless on the wall over the counter. "Hullo?" I answered groggily.

"Kora?" The voice was only slightly familiar. My stupid brain dredged up a memory of the night Jacob called, and the way he'd said my name. _Kora._ A sigh and a declaration. My heart did something strange that I tried to ignore. "Hello?" Oh, there's somebody on the phone.

"Uh, yeah, this is Kora," I said quickly.

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Hey baby, this is Keith." I cringed. Did he really just call me that? Ugh. "I was just calling to make sure you're coming tonight." Eh?

"What's tonight?" I asked.

"The party? At my place? Don't tell me you forgot." He laughed

"Oh. Yeah. That." I definitely forgot.

"Well I'm heading out in a few to pick up some supplies, so I could swing by and pick you up on my way home if you want," Keith said.

"Um, I don't think that's—"

"Kora?" My mom walked into the kitchen, setting some dirty dishes in the sink. "Who are you talking to?"

"Hold on a second," I said into the receiver before pulling it away from my face and covering it with my hand. "Just a guy from school."

Her eyebrows went up. "Oh. Jason?"

"Jacob," I corrected. _Thanks for taking such an interest in my life, Mom._ "And no. Someone else."

She blinked. "Who?"

"Uh, Keith."

"Oh! He's on the soccer team with Tim, isn't he?" I shrugged. "What does he want?"

"He wants me to go to some party." As soon as my mother's eyes lit up, I knew it had been a mistake to tell her that.

"A party!" She smiled. "That's a great idea, Kora! What time will you be leaving?"

"Mom, I really don't—"

"It'll be really good for you to get out of the house, get to know some people, make friends."

"I _have_ made friends, Mom." Not exactly willingly, but they were still my friends.

"Well, you know Tim told me those kids aren't the best to be around." _Oh, _now_ you're interested?_

"Tim doesn't know anything!" I snapped, then quickly bit my tongue and breathed deeply through my nose. Mom looked shocked. It was probably the first time I'd shown any emotion around her besides dead and hysterical in the last few weeks. "What I mean is, Tim doesn't know _them_."

"Well," Mom said, carefully. "I still think you should go to this party and give some other kids a try. Maybe you'll meet somebody you like better than that Justin boy."

"_Jacob_," I corrected again. "And you're making it sound like he's my boyfriend."

"Isn't he?"

"No!" I bit my lip. It would probably be best for my mental health if I just let her win this one. What was one party? It couldn't be too bad. "I guess I could go for a little bit."

Mom smiled and grabbed an apple out of the bowl on the table. "Good," she said, satisfied, and left the kitchen. I swallowed and looked at the clock. 5:30. I'd slept most of the day away before getting up to try and do my homework. I lifted the phone to my ear.

"Keith?"

"Yeah, babe?" I rolled my eyes, then wondered at the annoyance and the fact that it wasn't bringing out anything worse.

"When should I expect you?"

I could practically hear his grin when he replied. "Seven."

"Okay."

"Cool. See you then!" He hung up before I could say goodbye. I should probably take a shower. Grumbling to myself, I headed out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. I took my time in the shower, not really wanting to get out and eventually go with Keith to the stupid party. After drying myself off and throwing on some jeans and a sweater, I glanced in the mirror. It had been ages since I'd done anything with my hair. There wasn't much to be done with it when I hadn't done my Rights. I remembered it looking incredible when I was filled to the brim with power, crackling at my fingertips, giving my now dark and limp strands body, shape, and shine. Now it just looked tangled and wet. I combed it out and put it in two braids. I wasn't trying to impress anyone.

The doorbell rang as I was lacing up my sneakers. I glanced at the clock on the DVD player. 6:45. He was early. I sighed and quickly finished with my shoes before going to answer the door. I hesitated with my hand on the knob and silently contemplated making a run for it out the back door, but the idea of being in the woods behind my house scared me almost as much as the idea of this stupid party. I opened the door.

And gaped at the shirtless Jacob Black standing on the porch.

"Hey," he said with confident ease, reaching up to brush his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Er—hi," I sputtered, watching a droplet of water slide down to the tip of his nose and drip past his perfect mouth. I coughed and forced myself to look behind him. It was drizzling. I wondered why his hair was completely soaked. Did he walk here? "Um, so, what's up?" I looked back at his face in time to catch his smile.

"Well, the guys are having a bonfire tonight, so I thought I'd drop by, see if you wanted to come." I was distracted by another raindrop that rolled off his shoulder and down his chest. Oh, God. I looked down.

"It's raining," I said.

"It's supposed to let up in a half hour or so," Jacob replied. I glanced up, wondering if he'd noticed the affect he was having on me. I caught the mischievous glint in his eye. He totally knew. Crap. "So, are you in?"

I sighed and leaned my head against the door as a flashy red sports car pulled into the gravel driveway. "I really wish you'd come about two hours ago." Jacob frowned and looked over his shoulder. I watched his face harden into the mask it had been the first time we'd met when he saw Keith get out of his car. Keith stopped when he saw Jacob, but then looked at me, smiled, and kept walking. "My mom's making me go. I really don't want to," I said, quickly.

Jacob turned his head so he could meet my eyes. His gaze was intense and serious. "Kora, I don't trust that guy."

I shrugged. "Neither do I."

"But you're _going_ somewhere with him?" His voice was hushed, but his irritation and anxiety were easy to detect.

"It's just a party," I said, suddenly feeling kind of defensive. "I'm a big girl, you know. I can count to ten."

"Hey." Keith chose that moment to skip up the steps and sling an arm around my shoulders. I watched Jacob's fists clench before he hid them behind his back. "Ready to go, babe?" I patted my pockets to confirm that I had my keys and cell phone before closing the door. All the while I was trying to ignore the palpable aura of anger rolling off of Jacob in waves. When I turned back around from locking the door, he was having a staring contest with Keith. Not for the first time, I thought I heard a low growl come from Jacob.

Keith looked away first and I saw a half a second of triumph on Jacob's face before it went back to being a mask. Keith grabbed my wrist. "We should go," he said, and pulled me down the stairs and over to his car. I got in the passenger side and grabbed my seatbelt before looking back at the house. Jacob still stood there, fists clenched and eyes narrowed, watching us pull away. I glanced down to fasten the belt. When I looked up again, Jacob was gone.

…………………………………………………

Jacob

I couldn't stop pacing. I think it was starting to annoy the guys, but I didn't really care. All I could think about was Kora. I kept wondering what she was doing, imagining the worst things possible happening to her, and I knew if I didn't keep myself moving somehow I was going to combust.

Or, you know, shift into a giant fucking wolf.

I couldn't stand it. The thought of that Reuben kid with his arm around her, his fingers closed around her wrist. I growled. I really don't like him.

"Jake," Quil called from his spot by the bonfire. "Calm down, man. I'm sure she's fine. There's plenty of people around."

"She's been at that party for two hours, Quil," I snapped. "Do you know what can happen in two hours?" He just shrugged and looked away.

"Why don't you just go to the damn party and find her yourself?" Embry suggested. "Then you'll feel better and stop worrying so much."

I groaned. "I can't show up at that party. She already thinks I'm weirdly overprotective."

"You could go skulk around Keith's house," Quil said. "You know, have a sniff about. See what's going on." He raised his eyebrows up and down. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Why don't I just walk into the party as a wolf while I'm at it and save them the trouble of noticing me?" I sighed and slumped to the ground. "I don't know what to do."

"Sucks, doesn't it," Quil stated. Embry laughed and I shot him a warning glare. I couldn't wait until he had to deal with this. _If_ he had to deal with this. God, why me?

"I could call her if you want," Kim offered, pulling out her phone. "See if she's okay?" I hesitated. I didn't want it to be obvious, but… "Don't worry. I'll make it seem casual." I took a deep breath, then nodded. Kim smiled, but as she was about to open her phone, it started vibrating. Her eyebrows went up, and she muttered, "Well, that's convenient," before answering. "Hello?" She frowned. "Kora, slow down and tell me what's going on." She stood up and I mimicked her, fear constricting my chest and creating the illusion that I couldn't breathe. "What? I can't understand you." Kim bit her lip. I couldn't move. "Where are you, Kora? Are you still at the party?" There was a pause, and she shook her head. "Okay, okay, I get that you're sleepy, but you gotta tell me where you are so we can come and get you." Another pause. "Kora? …Kora? Kora! Answer me! Kora!" She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the screen.

"Kim," I said, as evenly as I could. "What happened?"

"I…don't know." Jared quickly jumped up beside her. "She was talking gibberish. I couldn't understand her. She said something about leaves and that she was sleepy, then she just stopped talking. But Jacob—" Kim looked at me, clearly frightened. "I think she's in trouble."


	9. Promises and Apologies

**So, I'm a little obsessed with the New Moon soundtrack right now. I don't know how these movies manage to get such a great collection of songs in them. The Twilight soundtrack was exponentially better than the movie itself. Both soundtracks are excellent. **

**Oh, and by the way, the poem at the beginning of the last chapter was "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. I noticed I forgot to credit that genius. xD  
**

**This chapter's a bit longer than the last one. Enjoy! :)**

Chapter Nine: Promises and Apologies

_How much pain has cracked your soul?  
How much love would make you whole?  
__You're my guiding lightning strike.  
-Muse_

**Kora**

I followed Keith into his house, which was already filled to the brim with people. Literally. They were falling out the front door. It was seriously claustrophobic to push my way through such a tightly packed group of people. Keith kept a hold of my wrist with one hand while the other held the largest case of beer I ever saw. I cringed when the scent of alcohol and sweat hit my senses. It was going to be a long night.

"So, what can I get you to drink, babe?" I wish he'd stop calling me that.

"Um, just a water, if you have it," I said. He frowned, clearly not happy that I wasn't in the mood for any alcoholic beverages, but went to the fridge and dug around in it for a second before handing me a bottle of Poland Springs. I quickly cracked the seal and took a long drink from it to clear the cotton from my mouth. "Now what?"

"Now what!" Keith repeated, then laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. I cringed openly, but he didn't seem to notice. "Now, we start having fun! C'mon, let's go find Tim and the guys."

"Oh, great," I said, blandly. "Tim and the guys."

We made our way through the kitchen and into what looked like it used to be a living room but now was mostly just a place for people to dance. Although, the dancing looked a lot more like fornicating to me. But that's just my opinion. We pushed through the crowd of writhing bodies and I held my breath the entire way until we broke out on the other side where the couch had been pushed up against the wall. Tim and a few of his buddies were sitting on it, each with a girl perched on his lap. Tim's lap was occupied by Michelle, who sneered at me as we approached and adjusted her prissy glasses.

"Kora?" Tim said, sounding surprised to see me. I didn't blame him. I was surprised I was there, too.

"Yep," I said, taking another drink from my water bottle.

"What are you doing here?"

"My mom made me come." That was what I wanted to say. What I actually said was, "Standing."

"That's a good point," Keith said, and seemingly produced a kitchen chair out of absolutely nowhere. He sat down and patted his lap. "Feel free to take a load off."

"Tempting," I said, resisting the urge to make a face. "But I'll pass."

Keith frowned. "Why?"

"I like standing." Had I actually liked standing, it would've been a very good thing, seeing as I spent the majority of the next hour standing there and repeatedly refusing Keith's advances. He seemed to get frustrated after my thirty-fifth refusal to dance with him and disappeared into the crowd. I sighed and considered calling Jacob to come and get me for the umpteenth time. But I couldn't call him. He already had some weird idea that I couldn't take care of myself at a party. No need to reinforce it. Really, I'd been to plenty of parties before my dad…

The point is, I've been to parties, and I know that the main goal of any guy at one of these parties was to get a girl as drunk as possible and then get her somewhere alone so he could…well, there's really no need to go into detail there.

"Kora, I need to talk to you," Tim said, dumping Michelle out of his lap. She protested loudly but he ignored her, opting to grab my arm and lead me along the wall to the open back door where his friends couldn't overhear us. "You need to be careful around Keith. He's really not the nice guy he pretends to be."

I looked at him blankly. "You think I don't know that?"

"Well, I don't know." Tim sighed. "It's just he…he's made a habit out of picking out a girl at these things, making her feel all special, getting her completely smashed, and then…you know." He gave me a meaningful look.

"Oh, I know," I replied. "I've been to parties before, Tim. Besides…" I held up my empty water bottle. "I'm not drinking tonight. I don't like drinking, really." There was no reason to add that drugs and alcohol tended to mess me up even worse because of what I was. The distortion of nature in alcohol didn't agree with my blood. One beer for me was like six shots of tequila for a normal girl my size. And drugs were purely chemical. I reacted to those even worse. It was why I couldn't take anything to help me sleep at night. I just had to deal with the night terrors. Although, I hadn't had very many of them this week. Not since…

Well, not since Jacob.

"There you are!" Keith's voice was so loud in my ear it made me jump. "I've been looking all over for you!" _What a coincidence,_ I thought. _I've been all over trying to avoid you._ I suppressed a smirk. My sarcasm seemed to be returning. What was happening to me? "I brought you another water." He shoved it into my hands, taking the empty bottle from me and tossing it casually over his shoulder. "Didn't want you to get dehydrated or anything."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig.

"What were you guys talking about?" Keith asked, eyeing Tim suspiciously.

"Nothing," Tim said, too quickly. I sighed.

"Tim wanted my advice about something," I said, far more convincingly. "Nothing too important." I shrugged and took another long drink. Was it getting hotter? Maybe Keith was right about the dehydration thing. I chugged down half the bottle.

"So…you change your mind about that dance?" Keith asked, hopefully.

"Hmm…yeah," I answered, to all three of our surprise…es?

"Yeah?" Tim and Keith both said.

I sighed. "Did I stutter?"

"Not at all, baby," Keith said. He grabbed my wrist and led me out into the sea of merging bodies, pulling me close as he swayed to the beat. "This isn't so bad, huh?"

"Um…" I blinked. It was even hotter on the dance floor. "I think that guy is sweating on me." I took a drink from my water bottle and scrunched up my face. "I'm hot."

"You certainly are," he replied. Smooth.

"No, I mean it's really hot in here." I chugged down what was left of my water and the bottle promptly slipped through my fingers. "Whoa."

"What's wrong, babe?" Keith asked.

"I'm kinda dizzy." I looked around at the people whose faces blurred around me. "And hot. Why is it so hot all of a sudden?"

"I dunno," Keith said. "I should get you out of here. I think you really are dehydrated."

"But I had so much water."

"Yeah." He started leading me out of the crowd.

"Like, soooo much water."

"I know, babe." He paused. "I just had a great idea. How about I run you a cool bath. Would that make you feel better?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't wanna take my clothes off."

"Of course not, baby. You can keep your clothes on." I thought about that for a second before nodding. A cool bath sounded pretty grood. I mean good. Great. Great and good.

Keith had to practically drag me up the stairs because I was so dizzy. When we got to the landing, he led me over to the bathroom door and pulled me in before shutting it behind him. I looked around, blinking, and felt confused as I took in the rock posters on the walls and the bed in the corner. "Keith, this isn't the bathroom."

"No, it's not."

I turned around to look at him. "Why isn't this the bathroom?"

Keith smiled. "Because it's my bedroom, baby."

"Yeah, but why?"

"Come on," he said, walking towards me. "You know why." And that was when he grabbed my shoulders and pressed his mouth to mine.

I shoved him away. "What are you doing!?"

"It's time to stop playing hard-to-get, Kora. It's not entertaining anymore." He grabbed me again, this time trying to force his tongue into my mouth. I bit it. Hard. "Augh!" He jumped back, slapping one hand over his mouth. "You bitch!" He slapped me, and I fell to the ground. Keith was on top of me before I could even figure out how I'd gotten on the floor. His hands found their way up my shirt, clawing at my skin. "Just hold still!"

"No!" I beat my fists against his shoulders and chest. "Get off me! GET OFF!"

The door burst open, slamming into the wall. "What the _fuck_?" Tim said. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear that voice. He grabbed Keith by the collar and yanked him off of me. "Get _off_ her." Tim came to help me up and I wondered what was keeping Keith away. I got my answer when I saw Tim's two loyal henchmen standing by the door, arms crossed and glaring at Keith. "Are you all right, Kora?"

"Uh huh," I mumbled.

"She is my _cousin_," Tim snapped at Keith. "She may be kind of weird and bitchy but hell if I'm gonna let you do something like this to her!"

"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically, pushing away from him. "I think I'm gonna just…I'm gonna go…" I stumbled towards the door and Tim caught my shoulder. I shook him off. "I'm fine!"

"No, you're not," Tim said.

"I got it from here." I made it to the door. "I don't need your help, damn it!" I heard Tim calling after me as I made my way down the hall, leaning heavily against the wall. Hehe. That kind of rhymed. What was I saying? Oh, yeah. The music drowned him out once I made it down the stairs, somehow managing not to fall down them. I pushed through the crowd that seemed to swirl and morph around me. It was like they were trying to trap me. I don't want to be trapped. I burst through the other side and stumbled out the back door, ignoring the complaints of a few people I bumped into, causing their drinks to spill.

I headed for the woods. My final thread of connection to reality. I measured my progress by the length between the trees I had to lean against. I knew I had to call someone, but who? _Jacob_, the voice in the back of my head advised. No, not him. Somebody else…

I called Kim. She answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Kim!" I blurted. "Kimmyyyy, oh boy did I mess up biiiiig time, you're not gonna believe it!" I giggled.

"Kora, slow down and tell me what's going on."

"It was hot, but there was water, and then I drank it all up but it wasn't just water I guess because now I'm in the woods."

"What? I can't understand you."

What was she talking about? I sounded perfectly clear. "The water in the crowd and the guy was sweating and it was real icky."

"Where are you, Kora?" Kim asked evenly. "Are you still at the party?" Didn't I already tell her I'm in the woods?

"I'm sleepy, Kim." I collapsed to the ground and turned over to look at the stars. "Soooo sleepy," I sighed, closing my eyes and falling into blackness.

…………………………

**Jacob**

I dove for the woods, ignoring the sound of my pants and shoes ripping apart. Some small voice in the back of my mind muttered, _There goes another set_. I ignored it. All I could afford to concentrate on at that moment was finding Kora. I had no idea where she was.

_Start at Keith's, we can pick up her scent and go from there,_ Quil's voice suggested in my head. Then, _We'll find her, Jake._

I didn't answer, knowing he would understand my inability to form an understandable response. My head was spinning, my stomach clenched with pure terror. My paws on the forest floor beat out a chorus of her name. _Kor-a. Kor-a. Kor-a._ I guess there was no way for me to deny my attachment to her anymore, especially after tonight. Plus, I'd spent the rest of the week getting to know as much about her as possible and come to find I like her more and more with each little thing I learn. I don't love her, though. I know that much. My heart's still heavy with the weight of Bella's betrayal—and also, the weight of continuing to yearn for her no-longer beating heart.

But with Kora, there was still something there. Some strong kind of parallel to love that I didn't quite understand. It pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat, harmonizing her name with my paws pounding on the ground.

I had to force myself to slow down as I neared Keith's house. I circled around back, sticking to the shadow of the woods and eyeing the overflow of people into the back yard. They were all heavily intoxicated. I watched one girl double over to puke on her friend's shoes. I turned my head away. That's when it hit me; the familiar, slightly sweet scent of the girl I was supposed to protect. How could I have let this happen? I followed the trail slowly, wary that if she had passed out, she would be lying on the ground. I had to be careful. _Please,_ I thought. _Let her be okay._

Her scent got stronger, so I knew I was heading in the right direction. It really worried me that she had for some reason gone tramping deep into the woods. It was dangerous enough during normal times, but lately, with those bloodsuckers lurking around…

I caught sight of her, lying in a patch of moonlight. I bolted to her side and crouched down to nudge her head with my muzzle. Her phone was lying next to her. She must have just passed out in the middle of talking to Kim. I growled. Keith must've been feeding her beer after beer for this to happen. I nudged her face again and whined when I didn't get a response.

_I'm on my way,_ Quil said at the back of my mind.

I lay down and rested my head on Kora's stomach, just to feel the rise and fall and be sure she was breathing. I closed my eyes, silently cursing my haste and my resulting lack of pants. I had to get her somewhere safe. Kim's, maybe. Or Sam's.

Kora sighed and I felt the weight of her hand on my head. I felt a burst of happiness at the small sign of life. I lifted my head too fast and her hand fell away. I was slightly disappointed. I kind of liked the way her fingers felt in my fur. Her eyes fluttered and opened about halfway, looking up at me with a dazed and confused expression.

"Hullo, there," she giggled. "What big ears you have." I whined. She was acting so strange, and was obviously wasted. "And what a big nose you have." She reached out to touch my face and I leaned into it, nuzzling her hand. At least she was awake and talking, even if it was mostly some fairy tale nonsense. I was glad to see her moving. She smiled. "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"

The leaves rustled nearby and I immediately jumped up, adopting a defensive stance and growling at the intruder. Quil walked out from behind a tree with his hands up.

"Easy, Jake," he said. "It's just me." I looked down at Kora. She was out again. I lay back down beside her as Quil knelt down to check her pulse and breathing. "She seems all right, but I'm gonna have to pick her up and carry her back to Sam's, okay?" I gave him a small grunt of agreement and watched as he carefully worked his arms under her back and knees, lifting her up into his arms. Seeing him holding her so close did weird things to my insides. I had to remind myself that it was just Quil, and that I trusted him and he was only doing what he had to do to keep her safe.

I still felt oddly jealous following him through the woods towards Sam's. Part of me wished I was the one carrying her, acting the knight in shining armor or whatever. Plus, it would've given me something to concentrate on other than the burning desire to rip somebody's throat out. Every time I looked at her limp frame hanging from Quil's arms, I wanted to run back to that damn party and tear them all to pieces. Reuben for doing this to her, and the rest of them for letting it happen.

The rest of me just felt guilty, because no matter what happened, or who I tried to blame, it all came down to the fact that _I should have been there._ I should've protected her from this. I shouldn't have allowed this to happen. My responsibility—_my reason for being_—was to keep her safe and happy, and I couldn't even do that right. I failed.

No wonder Bella left me.

And happiness was an entirely different story. I felt completely helpless in the face of what she'd suffered. When she'd told me how she'd seen her father's dead body with her own eyes, the guilt settled in like a ton of cement in the pit of my stomach. Why hadn't I been there to protect her from that, too? It didn't matter that I hadn't known her then, because when I thought of what I _had_ been doing while she was suffering… Let's just say gallivanting around Canadian forests didn't seem quite important enough to take precedence.

I wish I'd been there to shield her from that traumatizing experience. But I wasn't, and I had to work with what I'd been given. Kora came to me broken and bleeding, and I would just have to find some way to put her back together again. It was going to take time, I knew that, but it had to be done. I couldn't protect her from things that already happened, but I could damn well try my hardest to fix her, and keep her from getting hurt again. Because—(and this hit me like the first time I ever shifted)—Kora is my reason for breathing. She is why I exist. I am here so I can be what she needs me to be, and right now, she needs someone to look out for her, since her mother doesn't seem interested and her cousin is useless. _She needs me._ Regardless of my failure tonight, I _will_ keep her safe. No matter what.

I pressed my nose into the palm of her hand, dangling behind Quil's back. _I promise._

When we finally got to Sam's, I had to wait in the woods until Emily could scrounge up an extra pair of shorts for me. Jared brought them out to me, which told me Kim was probably still around. I was glad. Kim liked Kora a lot, so she was probably inside fussing over her already. _I should be fussing over her._ I shifted quickly and pulled on the khaki shorts, buttoning them as I approached the house.

"Where is she?" I asked as soon as I'd walked in the kitchen door.

"Living room couch," Jared replied. I started to walk past him, but he held up a hand to stop me. "Wait, Jake." I gave him an irritated look.

"What?"

"There's something you should know."

"_What,_ Jared?"

"Something Quil noticed."

"Is there a point here, or are you wasting my time on purpose?" I crossed my arms and glared from him to Quil and back. I needed to go into the living room and start taking care of Kora like I should've been all along.

"Well, I just noticed her breath doesn't smell," Quil said, carefully.

I stared at him, blankly. "I'm still waiting for the punch line."

"Meaning," Quil continued hastily, "it doesn't smell like alcohol." I stared at him some more, as what he was getting at slowly began to make sense. "So, she probably hasn't had anything to drink tonight. Or at least not nearly enough to make her pass out like that."

I felt my hands curl into fists. "Are you saying she's been drugged?"

"We're just saying it's a highly probable possibility," Quil said.

A shiver of heat ran down my spine. I didn't want to believe it. Feeding her alcohol was one thing, but slipping her some kind of…_date rape drug_ was another level entirely. _Oh, God,_ I thought as the full implication of what I'd just realized became clear. _What if she's been…?_ The shaking started in my hands and spread to the rest of my body. I thought I'd gained control of this, but the fire raging in the pit of my stomach was so powerful.

"I'm going to kill him," I said, my voice low.

"Who, Jake?" Jared asked warily.

"Anyone. Everyone. Every single person at that damn party. Reuben, that son of a…" I growled viciously. "If he touched her…"

"Jake," Quil said, grabbing my shoulders. "You need to calm down."

"I'll kill him."

"Jake."

"I'll tear him apart."

"Jake!"

"Starting with his arms."

"Jake, you're not frickin' Beowulf, all right? You need to calm down!"

I leveled my eyes on Quil for the first time since I started imagining the many wonderful deaths of Keith Reuben. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go back there and rip his head off." Quil opened and closed his mouth a few times before he seemed to decide on an argument. Instead of talking, he grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the living room doorway, pointing definitively to the couch. Kora was laid out with her head resting on a pillow. Kim was in the process of tucking a blanket around her and Emily was dabbing her pale and sweating face with a washcloth. I took several deep breaths as the scene quickly sobered me up.

"Good enough reason for you, Jake?" Quil asked quietly. "Take care of her. I know you want to. We'll figure the rest of it out later, when she's better and can tell us what happened."

"What if she doesn't remember?" I said.

"Then we interrogate Keith, and if you want you can rip his arms off and hang them above the door, but for now…" He motioned into the room, but it wasn't necessary. I was already moving, walking forward, falling to my knees beside her.

"I'll do that," I said softly, taking the washcloth from Emily. She smiled and nodded, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder before standing up and leaving the room. I felt Kim's eyes on me before she left, but I looked only at Kora, not wanting to see the concern directed at me. Looking at Kora's face, framed by the strands of hair liberated from her braids just to get stuck to her cheeks and forehead, the guilt ripped through me anew.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her unresponsive ears. "I'm so sorry."


End file.
